Not since W. H. Auden's Academic Graffiti has a poet of serious substance indulged so thoroughly in clerihews, those miniature (and often outrageously fictional) biographies invented just over 100 years ago by E. C. Bentley (1875--1956). In Brief Candles, Pulitzer Prize winner Henry Taylor takes on with hilarious irreverence people usually taken most seriously -- members of the Supreme Court, poets laureate, literary theorists, Whitewater celebrities, and New Testament figures -- demonstrating through 101 clerihews that one ...
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Not since W. H. Auden's Academic Graffiti has a poet of serious substance indulged so thoroughly in clerihews, those miniature (and often outrageously fictional) biographies invented just over 100 years ago by E. C. Bentley (1875--1956). In Brief Candles, Pulitzer Prize winner Henry Taylor takes on with hilarious irreverence people usually taken most seriously -- members of the Supreme Court, poets laureate, literary theorists, Whitewater celebrities, and New Testament figures -- demonstrating through 101 clerihews that one of the primary purposes of poetry is to have fun, even while craftsmanship remains paramount. Taylor's shimmering wit and resourceful use of rhyme combine with whimsical illustrations by Heather Alexander to make these tiny playful pieces a rare treat for all readers. In times of tribulation, we can read the Book of Lamentations, or the Psalms, or just as likely, Henry Taylor's clerihews. They are, as he calls them, Brief Candles, but they do give a satisfying light.
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Add this copy of Brief Candles: 101 Clerihews to cart. $22.48, new condition, Sold by Aardvark Books Ltd rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Bucknell, HEREFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2000 by Louisiana State University Press.
Add this copy of Brief Candles: 101 Clerihews to cart. $76.89, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by LSU Press.
Add this copy of Brief Candles: 101 Clerihews to cart. $80.09, new condition, Sold by Just one more Chapter rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Miramar, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Louisiana State Univ Pr.
Add this copy of Brief Candles: 101 Clerihews to cart. $80.09, new condition, Sold by Just one more Chapter rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Miramar, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by LSU Press.
Add this copy of Brief Candles: 101 Clerihews to cart. $99.99, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by LSU Press.
Add this copy of Brief Candles: 101 Clerihews to cart. $234.82, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2000 by Louisiana State Univ Pr.
This collection features four-line peoms mostly concerning an inside group of names you might not care about or ever have heard of, uninspired rhymes, and no particular identifiable humor. Probably it was never meant for general consumption. E.C. Bentley would not have been flattered.