ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2004. Amid the outpouring of new songs and poetry written in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, people also recognized previously written works that seem to have taken on new relevance.

One of the more haunting examples is Laurie Anderson's song "O Superman" (c. 1980).
You can hear Anderson's September 19, 2001, Town Hall performance of the song as part of a concert excerpted on the WNYC show New Sounds.

You can find the lyrics to "O Superman" at this website and read a post-9/11 take on Laurie Anderson and "O Superman" at the BBC website.

Another pre-9/11 work worthy of contemplation is "Riding the Elevator Into the Sky" by Anne Sexton (1928-1974). The poem was recently spotlighted by Charlie Suisman of the Manhattan User's Guide. (I'm not sure he got all the words right, but most of them are there.)

To hear Sexton reading the poem (she sounds a little like Anderson's pal William Burroughs), click on the appropriate link at the Harper Audio! sector of the Internet Town Hall. The sound quality isn't very clear, but you can read along at the following websites. (Incidentally, the poems are not all haunting or depressing. "Us" is quite a sexy little thing!)

"Rowing"
"Riding the Elevator Into the Sky" (middle of the page)
"The Play"
"The Rowing Endeth" (scroll down)
"Us"