Limericks / Obama Limerick (January 15, 2009)

On syllable count, I’ll just let you read the samples I posted in response to your previous review. In addition, if you try some examples from Ogden Nash, you will get surprised altogether… and maybe, loosen up the rigid limerick form you now use to judge them.

There are many limericks posted here by other people – I have read a few, some I have even reviewed to the extent of re-writing (if it is of interest to you, look up an interesting exchange in the thread of Howard Bushart’s limerick series, called “Very Like a Politician”). Some people just do not understand the meter, the rhyme, and the form itself – I guess, they don’t have the ear for it. A few successive generations were brought up on verse libre – and they lost touch.

Overall, I have been fairly disappointed with what I found in this area of Urbis – and yes, most of them were/are left-wing-bound.

And on this left side, I am yet to see a limerick which is:

1. technically sound (not even one)
2. true to facts, as any satire should be (this is important – I even provide a reference for every limerick on Urbis, and on our web site for people who may have missed the relevant news)
3. engaging – in any way, be it a word play, a twist of a meaning, or an unusual and punchy expression.

But there were, as I recall, one or two nonsensical ones here on Urbis, which were passable.

Thank you for your kind words – I still hope for a higher calling…

I write limericks, of course (as far as I know , as of right now, I wrote more than anyone I read from or about), but I still hope that other things I do would matter more than my attempt to exert poetical influence on political events, however eccenric his may sound.

Thank you for reading it.

The beat is, actually, fine (here is what it looks like, sresed/unstressed):
--I--I--I-
--I--I--I-
--I--I
--I--I
--I--I--I-
In keeping the meter, monosyllabic words can be assumed to be stressed or unstressed, as it fits the meter.

If you like limericks and not afraid of an overdose, there are over 300 of them that I wrote and posted at www.obamafu.com – take a look.

Sorry, it should be stressed/unstressed.

I’ll take a look at your other stuff for sure. Sounds fun.

While you may be right (on a technicality) if the reader has to reread your limerick to make it span, then the impact is lost.

Thank you for reading it.

As of this morning, there are 324 of my limericks posted at www.obamafu.com – you may want to take a look.

I will do that. Thank you kindly.

Thank you for your review.

There are a few more limericks I posted here on Urbis, and 300+ (yes, this is three hundred and more coming almost daily) I posted on our Web site – www.obamafu.com – take a look, you may enjoy it.

Thank you for your kind words.

There are a few more limericks posted here at Urbis – and 300+ I wrote and posted at www.obamafu.com. Take a look – there are some definitely better than this one.

Thank you for the review.

Yes, I am from that part of the world where winger/linger/finger almost blur together… the Great State of Texas, U.S.A.

I do realize this is a minor obstacle (I have noticed that you hail from UK). But I remember how I had to “adjust” while reading The Master – Edward Lear – constantly remembering about the British way to pronounce things (and Lear is, of course, not alone: W.H.Auden is another good example).

Thank you for reviewing it.

If you are not afraid to get overwhelmed, there are about half-dozen posted here at Urbis, and 300+ at www.obamafu.com – take a look.

Thank you for reading it.

Not to defend this limerick at the cost of the truth – but just to clarify: it takes all kinds.

There was no way in Hell I could write 300+ of these (there are already 312 posted on our site), and not do better in some and and worse in some. I studied all 213 limericks Lear wrote in his entire life, very closely, and even he, the master of the genre, shows stuff that varies wildly.

There is also an issue with the range of styles one is willing to accept – this range is always determined by the stated goals.

It appears (and I am speaking from actual polling I have done) that while some people (myself, and apparently, you, included) value the intellectual twist along with the elegance of a construct, there is a rather large audience, which seems to enjoy the – as one of the reviewers noted below, “low-brow” – simplicity of the statement and style. Coming from a different background, I cannot yet figure out why they do it, but nevetheless, I have some idea of the educational and cultural credentials of this part of my potential audience, and from the standpoint of my original goal – to effectively produce a persuasive mass of work, which would eventually peacefully affect (if even to a small degree) the political balance in this country by making certain segments of the population see certain things in the way I’d like them to – these “low-brow” pieces seem to have kept their effectiveness intact.