"I know that a lot of what I say has been lifted off of men's room walls"

David Berman may have been singing about a different bathroom in the above-mentioned tune, but for commode users in Iowa City, you can now get some verse with your relief. Check it, from this Daily Iowan article:

The newspapers, magazines, and hastily etched phrases in some Iowa City restroom stalls have been replaced by an unlikely stand-in: poetry.

Through an endeavor called Potty Mouths, a group of three creative-writing students at the University of Iowa hopes to make poetry accessible to every member of the community as well as add to Iowa City's image as a UNESCO City of Literature.

"The goal of the project, essentially, is to bring art to Iowa City patrons at a time and place that's convenient for them," said Kaylee Williams, one of the creators of Potty Mouth.

As a part of the project, poetry was posted with permission from the establishments in the restroom stalls of many downtown businesses and cafés, Williams said.

And what started off as a project for a class has quickly launched into a community-wide endeavor.

"A big part of what we're doing is centered on the idea that poetry is an art form that is accessible to all people, not just to university folk. It's something we're trying to express to people and show them," Williams said. "Poetry is for everyone."

The project has been well-received by many members of the community.

"People in Iowa City and the community are getting excited about it. People are noticing," Williams said. "It's definitely grown bigger than us, and that's exactly the point. We want to engage people on a mass scale."

Kate Krohn, a 23-year-old poet in residence with the Working Group Theatre, said she was impressed with the project.

"I think that one of the things I've noticed since living here and becoming pretty entrenched in the community is that there is a divide between those who are interested in creating the written word," Krohn said. "It puts poetry in a practical place, making it more accessible."

Krohn said she also feels the project is revitalizing the art form.

"Poetry is such an odd, sort of alienable thing, and it is considered a dying art, but when you make it accessible, it becomes alive again," she said. "It ignites the life into poetry. It's reigniting the interest. It reinvigorates it, and it becomes something new."

As Pound said, "Make it poo." There's a video for you to watch, too, after the jump. And yes, the cameras go into a bathroom.