Bigging up the Clerihew

There are plenty of short poetry forms around: haiku, tanka, limerick etc, but one that doesn't get as much take-up is the Clerihew. Named after Edmund Clerihew Bentley, the novelist and humorist, who was a contemporary of GK Chesterton and Dorothy L Sayers, it's a unique verse-form, in requiring very little of the poet. While it does have two rhymes, these can be loose or forced, and the meter is, as Frances Stillman (author of The Poet's Manual and Rhyming Dictionary) describes 'more or less in the rhythm of prose'.

Instead of strict form, the Clerihew relies on silliness for its effect. Bentley's most quoted Clerihew runs:

Sir Christopher Wren

Said, "I am going to dine with some men.

If anyone calls

Say I am designing St. Paul's."

This example illustrates most of the features of a Clerihew. There are just two rhyming couplets, the lines are often of different lengths and the first line is nearly always just the name of the subject of the poem. Clerihews usually say something about the person, but it's just as likely to be fatuous as it is factual.

That's all there is to it, really. Few Clerihews are profound and if they prompt a wry smile, they have done their job. All of which leads up to the main purpose of this blog.

I've just completed an alphabet of them, 13 men and 13 women, most of them notable 20th Century people (so there's room for a 21st Century sequel). Here's D:

James Dean

looked great on screen.

He drove a '49 Ford Mercury in Rebel Without A Cause,

but never raced his Porsche 550 Spyder against the
                                  Shelby Mustang of Jim Morrison from The Doors.

I've designed and printed all 26 poems on a cream, wove paper and perfect bound them with my own fair hands (good manicure, but a bit wrinkly) within card covers and translucent end-papers. Might blog something about printing and binding at some stage.

The format of Twenty-Six Clerihews (always been good at titles) is 1/3rd A4 and there are just 100, numbered copies available. Unlike most limited editions, which will set you back an arm, a leg and other sundry body parts, these little beauties are only a fiver (£5) a pop, including postage and packing to the UK, or £7 to other parts of the world.

Here's the Contents page, so you can see who's included (click to enlarge)...

and here's one of the pages, so you can see the layout (click to enlarge)...

If you fancy a copy, please click on the PayPal button below.