jaw@ames-lm.UUCP (James A. Woods) (02/06/84)
#
Literati in net.poems, you are falling short in the research dept.
It goes like this:
A is for Amy who fell down the stairs;
B is for Basil assaulted by bears.
C is for Clara who wasted away; D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh.
E is for Ernest who choked on a peach; F is for Fanny sucked dry by a leech.
G is for George smothered under a rug; H is for Hector done in by a thug.
I is for Ida who drowned in a lake; J is for James who took lye by mistake.
K is for Kate who was struck with an axe;
L is for Leo who swallowed some tacks.
M is for Maud who was swept out to sea;
N is for Neville who died of ennui.
O is for Olive run through with an awl; P is for Prue trampled flat in a brawl.
Q is for Quentin who sank in a mire; R is for Rhoda consumed by a fire.
S is for Susan who perished of fits; T is for Titus who flew into bits.
U is for Una who slipped down a drain; V is for Victor squashed under a train.
W is for Winnie embedded in ice; X is for Xerxes devoured by mice.
Y is for Yorick whose head was knocked in;
Z is for Zillah who drank too much gin.
-- Edward Gorey,
"The Gashlycrumb Tinies"
The illustrated abcedarium is part of the slipcased trilogy which includes
"The Insect God" and "The West Wing". Available for $3.95 in the sixties,
now the first edition is worth ~ $70. Or, you can get the cheaper collection
"Amphigorey" in paperback. A librarian at U. C. Berkeley once told me that
the entire reference desk staff had memorized the poem to cite to each
other just for kicks.
Gotham Book Mart in New York is the distributor of much of Gorey's
ephemera, including postcards of several of the above lines.
I have the N is for Neville poster blowup hanging on my wall, as
well as a shelf of Gorey's little works (so far about 70, worth a couple
grand). If any one else out there is as addicted as I am, please write
me. There was a seminal article on Gorey in Esquire a few years back
by Alexander Theroux, wordsmith in his own right and narrator for
Stan Washburn's Gorey-like etchings (St. George's Dragon, The Schinocephalic
Waif, etc.). Also profiles in People, and the defunct New Times.
I could go on for hours about this cultist original, creator of bean bag
bats, set designer, balletomane, calligrapher, lover of fur coats and cats,
anagrams, etc. Test him out with the corner of your eye, and you too
will be hooked.
a Gorey nut,
-- James A. Woods {hao|menlo70}!ames-lm!jaw
P. S.
The Gashlycrumb Tinies does *not* give *me* the fantods--I'd read it
to any smart four year old. It also makes a good logout fortune.
For the squeamish, Gorey does do standard children's fare, too!