Found poetry

Found poetry is a type of poetry created by taking words, phrases, and sometimes whole passages from other sources and reframing them as poetry by making changes in spacing and/or lines (and consequently meaning), or by altering the text by additions and/or deletions. The resulting poem can be defined as either treated: changed in a profound and systematic manner; or untreated: virtually unchanged from the order, syntax and meaning of the original.

Examples
An example of found poetry appeared in William Whewell's "An Elementary Treatise on Mechanics":


 * Hence no force, however great,
 * can stretch a cord, however fine,
 * into a horizontal line
 * which is accurately straight.

Though when it was pointed out to him, an unamused Whewell changed the wording in the next edition.

In 2003, Slate writer Hart Seely found poetry in the speeches and news briefings of Donald Rumsfeld. In a transcript of a Department of Defense news briefing from February 12, 2002, Rumsfeld ruminated on "The Unknown":


 * As we know,
 * There are known knowns.
 * There are things we know we know
 * We also know
 * There are known unknowns.
 * That is to say
 * We know there are some things
 * We do not know.
 * But there are also unknown unknowns,
 * The ones we don't know
 * We don't know.
 * The ones we don't know
 * We don't know.

Hart Seely published Rumsfeld's poetry in the book, Pieces of Intelligence: The Existential Poetry of Donald H. Rumsfeld (2003). American composer Phil Kline set Rumsfeld's lyrics to music in "Rumsfeld's Songs", a song cycle released on Zippo Songs (2004). Pianist Bryant Kong also used Rumsfeld's lyrics on his release "Poetry of Donald Rumsfeld".

In July 2009, US talkshow host Conan O'Brien twice asked actor William Shatner to deliver the written words of former Alaskan Governor and Vice-Presidential nominee Sarah Palin in the style of beat poetry. Shatner performed Palin's Farewell Speech on July 27, 2009, and several of her "Tweets" on 29 July, 2009, during The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien. Shatner was supported by a bongo player and double-bassist.

Another well known example of a public figure's speech being converted into found poetry was the baseball play calls of Phil Rizzuto. Rizzuto was the announcer for the New York Yankees baseball team for some 40 years, and some of his at times rambling or disjointed commentary was collected and reformatted by Hart Seely and Tom Peyer into a collection of Rizzuto's found poetry. An example is Rizzuto's thoughts on the death of Yankees catcher Thurmon Munson in an airplane crash:

"The Man in the Moon"


 * The Yankees have had a traumatic four days.
 * Actually five days.
 * That terrible crash with Thurman Munson.
 * To go through all that agony,
 * And then today,
 * You and I along with the rest of the team
 * Flew to Canton for the services,
 * And the family...
 * Very upset.


 * You know, it might,
 * It might sound a little corny.
 * But we have the most beautiful full moon tonight.
 * And the crowd,
 * Enjoying whatever is going on right now.
 * They say it might sound corny,
 * But to me it's like some kind of a,
 * Like an omen.


 * Both the moon and Thurman Munson,
 * Both ascending up into heaven.
 * I just can't get it out of my mind.
 * I just saw the full moon,
 * And it just reminded me of Thurman Munson,
 * And that's it.