The Ballad of Harvey Pitt

Deadline Poet

By Calvin Trillin

This article appeared in the November 25, 2002 edition of The Nation.

November 7, 2002

(With apologies, once again, to Stephen Sondheim and his demon barber)

Attend the tale of Harvey Pitt,
Who many thought was quite unfit
To choose who'll be the referees
For people who paid him those fabulous fees.
It didn't seem a perfect fit
For Harvey Pitt,

The fox who guarded the henhouse.

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About Calvin Trillin

Calvin Trillin is The Nation's "deadline poet." He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1963 and has written the syndicated weekly column "Uncivil Liberties" since 1986. He has authored many, many books, including Tepper's Not Going Out and Deadline Poet: My Life as a Doggerelist. more...
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