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I thought people in this group might be interested in this: ---------------------- FEDERAL POETRY SUBSIDIES PROPOSED Washington, D. C. (CNS) - In a surprise move, the Bush Administration has announced that it will propose legislation in Congress to subsidize the production of verse by American poets. The program, which will be modeled on the longstanding federal agricultural price support program, will be designed to ensure a market at a basic price support level for the nation's poetry output. According to administration spokeswoman April Narr, a goal of the subsidies will be to ensure the continuing production of particular types of verse for which the market is currently weak. "For instance," she said at a news conference this morning, "not too many people write sonnets or heroic couplets any more, so those types of verse would be eligible for special price supports." Narr also said in response to questions that although the details have yet to be worked out, subject matter may also be taken into account to determine the price support levels of different types of poems. "There are plenty poems being written about having an affair or traveling in Europe or watching your child grow up," she said, "so that sort of poetry probably needs less subsidy. But poems about junk yards or shaving cream or peeling an orange are more rare and may be deserving of more price support." When questioned as to whether the public will accept a government program which channels taxpayers' dollars to poets, Narr replied, "It's really not such an unusual idea when you think of it. After all, if the federal government can pay farmers to produce soybeans, why can't it pay poets to produce sonnets?" ================================================== Jon Corelis [log in to unmask] http://www.geocities.com/joncpoetics ================================================== _________________________________________________________________ STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail