Hi there, greets the author. But he is not just welcoming us into the ad. Nor is he bringing us into his world, 21st century Astoria. The author is taking us into a metaphysical and spiritual journey inspired by life in a monument to life and the hereafter. What Tintern Abbey was to Wordsworth, the Shore Towers are to this great poet.
His epic begins with the classic line, "I heard that theres alot of whores in this building..."
First, notice his use of multiple elipses. It's as if the entire poem and even its title are being mumbled incoherently to us. It captures the feel of desperation and insanity that permeates the air in Queens.
The author muses on buying an apartment in the Shore Towers. Why? "...so i can hook up with [the whores]"
However it's here that the author has a change of heart. He rebels against the traditional line of thinking, the conservative pro-Bush pro-Iraq War pro-fear agenda that says "move to where the whores are." It's here that he breaks with his entire culture and begins what I think is a societal revolution.
He writes, "i would rather.....stay where i am......and bang them all anyway"
Genius! The use of pause, the unexpected twist, the notion that there is a false dichotomy between moving and not banging whores. It breaks down the very structure of what constitutes an ad. After all, he doesn't even say he wants women to reply and have sex with him. He describes neither the type of woman he wants nor himself. No one would possibly respond to this ad...and yet...i believe... by reading the ad....we have already responded to it! This may be the very work that brings the change needed in our society to bring down all inequality and turn us into a community of pure radiant love.
The poem ends in what many would call a question, but what I would describe as "a call." He asks, "whore r u?"
This could be read both as "Where are you?" calling out towards the iconic "whore who lives in this apartment building" and asking her to identify where she is so the author can bang her and as "whore are you?" asking the reader if she herself may also be a whore, like the ladies of Astoria.
I see the day when tour groups by the hundreds descend upon the ruins of the Shore Towers to search for the same inspiration that guided this genius to produce such a work of art.
Hi there........Shore Towers ....Astoria - m4w - 35
Reply to: pers-240259687@craigslist.org
Date: 2006-11-26, 8:00PM EST
I heard that theres alot of whores in this building.......
and that i should buy an apt. there......so i can hook up with them
i would rather......stay where i am......and bang them all anyway
whore r u?
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