Pagan Poetry

"Pagan Poetry" was the second single from singer Björk's album Vespertine. The single peaked at number 38 in the UK and number 12 in Canada. It was written and produced by Björk with additional production by Marius de Vries and mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent. The music box adaptation, featured in the song, was done by Jack Perron and the full version was later featured as a B-side song on the "Cocoon" single. Reception "Pagan Poetry" has been highly praised by critics, with many citing it as a highlight of the album. Allmusic said of "Pagan Poetry" that it "shares a spacious serenity with the album's quietest moments" and included this song as a track pick. Rolling Stone said: "In 'Pagan Poetry', she deploys the implied heaven of Zeena Parkins harp and a flotilla of music boxes with an Asian-teahouse touch." Blender said "'Pagan Poetry' sounds like the prelude to a particularly exotic sexual interlude." In March 2006, in the number 77 of the Spanish edition of Rolling Stone, "Pagan Poetry" was ranked number 38 by Spanish music professionals and experts on a list of the best songs of the 21st century. Slant Magazine said of the album: "Vespertine delicately traces the cycle of said relationship" and called the song "loss of personal identity and full possessive entrapment". Pitchfork Media placed the song at number 227 on its list of "The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s".