Part of our revived "Poetry Pamphlet" series, Two American Scenes features two masters of the essay discussing "found material." Excerpts: It was given to me, in the nineteenth century, to spend a lifetime on this earth. Along with a few of the sorrows that are appointed unto men, I have had innumerable enjoyments; and the world has been to me, even from childhood, a great museum.— Lydia Davis

Bad rapids. Bradley is knocked over the side; his foot catches under the seat and he is dragged, head under water. Camped on a sand beach, the wind blows a hurricane. Sand piles over us likea snow-drift.— Eliot Weinberger