John Taylor, The Praise of Hemp-Seed

Posted on May 3, 2002 by Marco Graziosi

The Praise of Hemp-Seed. by John Taylor.
From one of the best online collections of e-texts (Renascence Editions) a transcription of one of the earliest nonsense poems in English.
Note: The works (1630) of John Taylor, the water-poet, are available in PDF facsimile at Early English Books Online. Be warned that it is a 150MB download! Also, I don’t know why but it is to be found under Theology in STC I.

Posted in General | Leave a comment

The Russian Avant-Garde Book

Posted on April 19, 2002 by Marco Graziosi

The Russian Avant-Garde Book 1910 – 1934 :: MoMA
This is not strictly related to Edward Lear, but the exhibition deserves a visit, and many of the Russian futurists wrote Nonsense (zaum’). Be sure to have a look at the Reading Room. Also, you will need the Macromedia Flash Plug-in 5.0 to enjoy it.

Posted in General | Leave a comment

Posted on April 7, 2002 by Marco Graziosi

Lyrics in the Swamp
Pogo’s words are part nonsense, part down-home wisdom; part rural raillery, part parody of big-city and governmental jargon.
The New York Review of Books

Posted in General | Leave a comment

The Eden of Dreams and the Nonsense Land

Posted on March 29, 2002 by Marco Graziosi

Mirva Saukkola: The Eden of Dreams and the Nonsense Land
Subtitled “Characteristics of the British Golden Age Children’s Fiction in the Finnish Children’s Fantasy Literature of the 1950s”, this academic dissertation (May 2001, University of Helsinki, Institute for Art Research, Comparative Literature, Faculty of Arts) has some references to Lear.

Posted in Edward Lear, General, Lewis Carroll | Leave a comment

The Spook

Posted on March 29, 2002 by Marco Graziosi

The Spook
The February 2002 issue of this shiny horror magazine has a long interesting article on Edward Gorey by Deborah Markus, reviewing three recently published biographies.
By the way, the magazine also has the best monthly comics column I have read in years…
You will have to download the full pdf version of the magazine, in high or low resolution. You can also choose to download the Gorey article (1.6MB) by right clicking and choosing “save object as…”

Posted in Edward Gorey | Leave a comment

Introduction to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Posted on March 7, 2002 by Marco Graziosi

Introduction to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland By Will Self
BloomsburyMagazine.com – Ezine

Posted in Lewis Carroll | Leave a comment

Introduction to Through the Looking-Glass

Posted on March 7, 2002 by Marco Graziosi

Introduction to Through the Looking-Glass By Zadie Smith
[From the rising star of British fiction…]
BloomsburyMagazine.com – Ezine

Posted in Lewis Carroll | Leave a comment

Beautiful Birds: Masterpieces from the Hill Ornithology Collection

Posted on February 19, 2002 by Marco Graziosi

Beautiful Birds: Masterpieces from the Hill Ornithology Collection
Cornell University Library
[Almost nothing on Lear, but interesting for background information, especially concerning the different techniques.]

Posted in Edward Lear, General | Leave a comment

The True Mother Goose

Posted on February 11, 2002 by Marco Graziosi

The True Mother Goose
Songs for the Nursery, Or, Mother Goose’s Melodies for Children. Notes and Pictures by Blanche McManus. Published by Lamson, Wolffe and Co., Boston. 1895.
[A Kellscraft online facsimile edition.]

Posted in General | Leave a comment

Stanley Unwin: Master of nonsense

Posted on January 15, 2002 by Marco Graziosi

Stanley Unwin: Master of nonsense Professor” Stanley Unwin specialised in an unfathomable verbal style, replete with malapropisms and poetic gobbledegook.
[Look at it only if you can bear to read the following statement: “Fascinated by the absurdity of this language and with that of Edward Lear of Jabberwocky fame, he developed his own bizarre vocabulary, Unwinese, with which he delighted his own children.”]
BBC also has another obituary: Comedian Stanley Unwin dies, and a page with samples: Stanley Unwin Thinking of England on BBCi.

Posted in General | Leave a comment