Thursday, June 02, 2022

A Gilbert/Chesterton Clerhew Book?


I got the online edition of the May/June issue of Gilbert - the print edition has het to arrive - and discovered one of my clerihews is in it.

Robert Burns 
Hid behind some ferns. 
He feared that he might be shot 
By the husband of an auld acquaintance he forgot. 

— Lee Strong, Rochester, New York

As always, I'm pleased when the good folks at Gilbert publish one of my clerihews. Over the years, they have published a number of them, for which I am grateful.

As I've been getting up in years, I've been thinking about compiling some of my poems and publishing them, possibly in individual books for different genres, one of which would be of my clerihews. I spoke with an illustrator about the clerihew book, then back in March I contacted Dale Ahlquist to see if it might be something the Chesterton Society would be interested in publishing. I also mentioned that I thought a large collection of clerihews published in Gilbert would be great.

Dale responded that someone had actually contacted him about doing that, and asked if I would be open to some of my clerihews being included. 

I immediately said yes, and offered to help the person. I also wondered if this was something being done now, or if it might be a while before such a book could be put together. Dale said he had to dig up the email from the person, but given all the hats he is currently wearing  acknowledged that time was not something he did not have a lot of. So the book is down the road. 

I haven't heard anything since, so I don't know the identity of the person who contacted Dale, and if/when the book will be pursued.

I'm still interested in helping. I'd love to be part of the process of compiling and editing it. There have certainly been many wonderful clerihews written by various poets and published in Gilbert over the years. The "Clerihew Corner"  is one of the first features I read when an issue arrives.

So if that person reads this blog, let's talk!

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