Category Archives: Limerick

Matchbox-Styled Book: The Limericks

Posted on December 24, 2023 by Marco Graziosi

A few weeks ago, kind Dough Harris sent me an extract from a book he recently acquired. Here is how he describes it: An interesting matchbox-styled booklet dropped through my letterbox today. Supposedly part of the ‘Safety [or Safest – … Continue reading →

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W.S.’s Bosh Available Online

Posted on July 7, 2023 by Marco Graziosi

Dough Harris informs me that the limerick book I discussed here, Bosh by W.S. (London: Bickers & Son, 1876) is now available online at Google Books.

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A Batch of Irish Learics

Posted on May 12, 2023 by Marco Graziosi

In a previous post, like this one inspired by Doug Harris, I showed a page of “Irish Literary Learics” from   Idyls of Killowen: A Soggarth’s Secular Verses (London: James Bowden, 1899), by Matthew Russell, S.J. The same limericks, however had already … Continue reading →

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Cylinder Nasties and Some T.S. Eliot Limericks

Posted on April 8, 2023 by Marco Graziosi

One of the “Limerick Company” I occasionally hear from, Bob Turvey, mentioned the following article from the 5 March 2023 Sunday Times “Culture” supplement, pp. 24-25: Here is the passage of interest from the book being reviewed: Another star, and arguably … Continue reading →

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John Parry’s Stray Leaves from “A Book of Nonsense”

Posted on March 19, 2023 by Marco Graziosi

This page containing nine limericks (which was kindly provided by Doug Harris) comes from John Parry’s Ridiculous Things Scraps and Oddities: Some with and Many Without Meaning, London: T. McLean, 1854. In the November 20, 1869 issue of Once a … Continue reading →

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Aubrey Beardsley’s Limerick on Illustrating Le Morte Darthur

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Marco Graziosi

This manuscript records memories of Aubrey Beardsley’s mother about amateur theatricals put on at home by the adolescent Aubrey and his sister, Mabel, and her  son’s reluctance to fulfil his commission to illustrate an edition of Le Morte Darthur (1893–1894). … Continue reading →

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“Nonsense!” – Words from Edward Lear, music by Mel Orriss

Posted on January 13, 2022 by Marco Graziosi

Festive Flutes and Mel Orriss perform six of Lear’s limericks set to music.

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New Publications on Edward Lear (and more)

Posted on March 19, 2021 by Marco Graziosi

It’s been a long time since I updated the bibliographies, so here are quite a lot of items. Essays on Edward Lear: Walchester, Kathryn. “Non vedete. È una rivoluzione: Edward Lear Landscape Painter and Italy.” Journal of Tourism Consumption and … Continue reading →

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Little Bits of Nonsense

Posted on March 5, 2021 by Marco Graziosi

Here is another sequence of illustrated limericks that appeared in the early American comics supplements, in this case in the Detroit Free Press of 22 November, 1902. I have been unable to find more instalments. Thanks to Sunday Press Books‘ Peter … Continue reading →

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Irish Literary ‘Learics’

Posted on February 28, 2021 by Marco Graziosi

I have long thought that the word “learic” was an invention of modern limerick scholars desperate to find a way to justify the word “limerick,” whose origin as it is applied to Edward Lear’s nonsenses is mysterious, but here is … Continue reading →

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