Author Archives: Marco Graziosi

Where did Nonsense go?

Posted on March 27, 2006 by Marco Graziosi

One of the questions which are often asked about Nonsense is, Why did it disappear almost completely from literature after the great season of Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll? As M.B. Heyman writes in his thesis (Isles of Boshen: Edward … Continue reading →

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Self-Reference in Lear s Limericks

Posted on March 27, 2006 by Marco Graziosi

The documents section of nonsenselit.org now contains a recent essay on Edward Lear: Winfried Nöth. “The Art of Self-Reference in Edward Lear’s Limericks.” Interdisciplinary Journal for Germanic Linguistics and Semiotic Analysis 10.1, 2005, pp. 47-66. Many thanks to professor Nöth … Continue reading →

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The Owl and the Pussycat Went to See. . .

Posted on March 16, 2006 by Marco Graziosi

The Owl and the Pussycat Wen to See… is a musical play adapted from the verses and stories of Edward Lear by Sheila Ruskin and David Wood (who wrote the music and lyrics). The LP (Philips 6308022) was published in … Continue reading →

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The Laughable Looloos

Posted on February 20, 2006 by Marco Graziosi

Helen Stilwell’s Laughable Looloos 1906 series is now available in full colour at Nonsense in the Early Comics.

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The Woozlebeasts

Posted on February 16, 2006 by Marco Graziosi

The architect, John Prentiss Benson (1865-1947), had always dreamed of becoming an artist like his older brother Frank. In 1905 he lived in Flushing NY with his wife and four children and worked at his architecture firm of Benson and … Continue reading →

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American Limericks

Posted on February 10, 2006 by Marco Graziosi

I had just finished my previous post when I received the following article from Arthur: A New Book of Nonsense The nonsense craze started by Edward Lear in the 1840s eventually swept through the entire English speaking world. The spread, … Continue reading →

Posted in Limerick | 1 Comment

The Limerick Craze!

Posted on February 7, 2006 by Marco Graziosi

A number of early limerick books are now available for your online enjoyment, including the four published in the 1820s that inspired Edward Lear: The History of Sixteen Wonderful Old Women. Illustrated with as many engravings; exhibiting their principal eccentricities … Continue reading →

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Three Lear Limericks

Posted on February 7, 2006 by Marco Graziosi

Although it may sound sacrilegious, some artists have actually chosen to re-illustrate the verses in Edward Lear’s A Book of Nonsense. These Latter Day Neo Reform Limericks keep popping up everyday in bookshops. It’s not that Lear didn’t get it, … Continue reading →

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To the Land Where the Jam-tree Grows !?

Posted on February 6, 2006 by Marco Graziosi

Nothing […] amused Lear more than the failure of some people to appreciate the utter absence of sense in his nonsense. He used to relate that some one once wrote to him to say that he had marched various botanical … Continue reading →

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Ye Book of Sense

Posted on January 26, 2006 by Marco Graziosi

Arthur Deex has digitized two more early limerick books, Ye Book of Bubbles (1864) and Ye Book of Sense (c1870), and writes of the latter: A Review in the May 88 Pentatette A recent addition to my collection was a … Continue reading →

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