clerihew contest

The Literature Club of Hastings on Hudson has announced a clerihew contest as part of its 100th year anniversary festivities. A clerihew is a 4-line bit of nonsense with an aabb rhyme scheme. The subject can be anything, but to be eligible for the contest your clerihew must have a literary subject. (There’s a link to more details at the bottom of this posting.)
There are marvelous prizes. riverrun is involved. But the fun of the contest is in thinking up an entry more than in winning. I’m joining the clerihew party myself for that fun. Here are my submissions:

1.) What is a Clerihew?

A ditty silly not sublime.
Four lines with a-a-b-b rhyme.
Named for Bentley, Edmund Clerihew
And now it’s time for us to air a few.

2.) King Lear

Lear rewarded daughters two,
Would not believe their words untrue.
But for the banished girl who would not lie
He suffered anguish to see her die.

3.) Cyrano and Roxanne

He wrote of love in phrases rarified.
Alas, the signature she had not verified.
This blind triangle ends in ways quite drastic.
Consigning poor Roxanne to a life monastic.

4.) Lolita

Part woman, and too part child
This drove HH completely wild.
He made a plan and he took action
That led to his dark satisfaction.


Now that it’s typed out, I can see that Lolita does not really lend itself to a nonsense rhyme.
You try one. Send it in.

Find out more on the Literature Club website: literatureclubofhastings.blogspot.com
Send your entries to: litclubofhastings@gmail.com
O'Gara & Wilson, a Chicago Bookstore, runs a fun blog that also mentioned this contest on April 1