Holmes is a freelance writer and editor. In this essay, he interprets Vazirani's poem as so highly artful as to defy academic analysis.

One might contend that all forms of art draw to some extent on the emotions of their audience, whether they are readers, listeners, viewers, or appreciators of other kinds. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary gives the relevant definition of art as “the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects,” where an object that might be labeled aesthetically pleasing could in most cases be described as in some way beautiful. With respect to written work, a range of artfulness can be found in the various forms: a classification might hold technical writing and textbooks as entirely artless, nonfiction prose as somewhat artful (as limited by the intent to convey information), fictional prose as generally artful (as limited by intellectualization), and...