the duller the better, 2 : writing on the wall
Writing on the wall : I have formulated very definite ideas on this important aspect of prison life, and have already composed sentences and paragraphs (which I cannot give here) I hope to be able to inscribe on the walls of my cell. First, however, even before looking into the book mentioned above, I shall read very carefully (or try to read, since they may be partly obliterated, or in a foreign language) the inscriptions already there. Then I shall adapt my own compositions, in order that they may not conflict with those written by the prisoner before me...
ex Elizabeth Bishop, “In Prison,” The Partisan Review 4:4 (March 1938) : 3-10
viewable at Boston U archive : link
The image :
back page containing the circulation slip (detail), Phillips Academy copy/scan of William Phillips and Philip Rahv, eds., The Partisan Reader : Ten Years of Partisan Review 1934-1944 : An Anthology (1946), in which the Bishop piece appears.
at dokumen.pub : link