MetaFilter posts tagged with Poetry and Humor

Clerihews

Iridic — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:12:50 -0800

Sir Humphry Davy
Was not fond of gravy.
He lived in the odium
Of having discovered sodium.

This is the first example of the form that came to be known as the cler ihew. It's a biographical quatrain with a rhyme scheme of AABB. The first line uses the subject's name as a rhyme, while some element of their history occupies the rest of the stanza. The form aspires to wit, irreverence, and metrical irregularity:

Oscar Wilde Had his reputation defiled. When he was led from the dock in tears He said, "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at two years." (Stephen Fry)

Edmund Clerihew Bentley, who invented the clerihew as a schoolboy, is best remembered today as the author of Trent's Last Case, cited previously on Metafilter as the 33rd best mystery novel of all time. Several clerihews by W.H. Auden Sarah Palin clerihews Clerihews on philosophers Clerihews on female poets of the Romantic era

Burma

homunculus — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 20:05:35 -0800

Risking all: the Burmese jokers who laugh in the face of danger. In Burma (Myanmar), comedians are targets in the junta's war on words. [Via BB.] The Moustache Brothers have a website, but it doesn't look like it's been updated for some time. Htein Lin, the artist mentioned in the fifth link, was the subject of this post.

There once was a girl named Lenore

SansPoint — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 05:21:28 -0800

Famous Poems Rewritten as Limericks , as brought to us by our very own Lore Sjöberg. English majors, begin your griping now.

a cockroach who had been a free-verse poet in a previous life

Astro Zombie — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 15:32:07 -0800

Archy and mehitabel. Written by Don Marquis, illustrated by George Herriman. Aside from being a cockroach, Archy was also the reincarnation of a vers libre (free verse) poet. He made himself known to Marquis by jumping up and down on the keyboard all night, so the columnist would find his work the following morning. Once portrayed by Carol Channing. Recently annotated.

Just because I'm your uncle doesn't mean I cannot love you the right way

Robot Johnny — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 12:39:07 -0800

Happy Valentine's Day
to my favourite virgin.
I'd show you how much I love you,
but I don't feel like getting married.
The 8th Annual Pamie.com Valentine's Day Poems (previously on MetaFilter...)

dude. look, i love you, ok?

Robot Johnny — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 09:13:43 -0800

the other night
after eating chili
i ripped a pretty good one.
i lifted the blanket
to trap your head
and remembered
you weren't there.
i miss you.
Valentine's Poetry from Pamie .com

Seventeen Syllables of TERROR!

arto — Thu, 24 Jul 2003 03:11:44 -0800

Big Monsters, Little Poems. "Last night I dreamed I / Destroyed New York City in / My Maidenform Bra"
"Twin six-inch singers / Banshees, worse than the monsters / Mercy, make them stop!"
...and dozens more haiku monster movie reviews, promoting a forthcoming indie PC game.

nick.a — Tue, 08 Oct 2002 17:57:38 -0800

First there was Haiku. Then came Christmas Haiku, Suburban Haiku, Gangster Haiku, Dog Haiku, and...Leprosy Haiku?