There's nothing compared to the history of writing about the city of New York that you get, say, in Charles Reznikoff.

Oh, Georgia booze is mighty fine booze, The best yuh ever poured yuh, But it eats the soles right offen yore shoes, For Hell's broke loose in Georgia.

Broad-streeted Richmond . . . The trees in the streets are old trees used to living with people, Family trees that remember your grandfather's name.

Sometimes a sign or a quote is simply interesting by itself and does not require anything beyond being framed on a page.

Books are not men and yet they are alive.

American Muse, whose strong and diverse heart So many men have tried to understand But only made it smaller with their art, Because you are as various as your land.

You can take off your hats now, gentlemen, and I think perhaps you'd better.