Doodooality: Shots Fired from Uranus by Sumiko Saulson, Emily Loretta Flummox, Mysterious Backup
Dooky Zines (October 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage
Sumiko Saulson, Emily Loretta Flummox, Mysterious Backup are members of the metal karaoke band, NypSlyp. When invited to submit to the sequel of Haipoo: 7 Poospectives in Pooetry, a collection of scatalogical verse, the group decided to create their own concept album of “haipoo, limershits, and other forms of poetry focusing on the fecalarity — the sentience of poop.” This chapbook is meant to mirror or mimick a punk rock or metal concept album, full of political import and social criticism, but quickly devolves into shock for shock’s sake.
The premise of the book — the shock and horror — is The Fecalarity. Essentially, at some point, all fecal waste on earth becomes sentient. Fed up with humanity, this new intelligent life relocates to Uranus. Scatological hilarity ensues, but little more than that. Despite Saulson’s essay, “Why is Poop Political,” which makes it clear that part of this book was inspired by Donald Trump’s AI of him defecating on protesters, there’s little in this book that’s actually social or political in content. Rather than use the idea of planet so rotten and corrupt, even the waste products want to leave, the authors have resorted to puns and grade-school humor masquerading as poetry. Celebrations of everything from coprophagia to sexual scatophilia are included in this book.
Horror and horror writing have always invited and welcomed the gross and filthy. “Gross out” is a subgenre of horror championed by Stephen King, and used widely in film and literature to shock readers. As such, Doodooality falls under the category of horror poetry, in that it’s language organized in such a way to create shock and disgust in the reader. The book is designed as a punk concept album, with all the boldness and bluster of that subculture. The entirety of this collection is to offend, to challenge readers into saying this isn’t “real art” or “real poetry.” Beyond that, though, the book and the project read very much like a gimmick; rather than exploring all the possibilities of sentient fecal waste, the exodus of said waste to another location, and the resulting horrors, the authors have chosen silliness and potty humor.
For readers who find scatological humor funny, this book will surely want to be on their list. Readers who find shock for shock’s sake and marketing stunts to be less than palatable will probably want to avoid this collection.
