England has always reveled in its drawing-room dramas, from Jane Austen’s social minefields to E.M. Forster’s Howards End to Upstairs, Downstairs — and yes, the blockbuster Downton Abbey. John Lanchester’s brilliant Capital, set on a once-ordinary London block whose housing prices have skyrocketed, has the distinction of being the first brick-and-mortar novel set squarely in our current times.
Hangy Tool? Go, Ya NothL? Ah…ANTHOLOGY
Posted by Lizzie on 12/15/05
Speaking of STOLEN DREAMS, Francis Heaney has crafted a wondrous anthology — a Holy Tango, if you will — of classic poems retitled and reenvisioned using anagrams of the authors’ names (me sam). Really, really don’t understand what we are talking about? Behold the genius:
LIKABLE WILMA
WILLIAM BLAKE
Wilma, Wilma, in thy blouse,
Red-haired prehistoric spouse,
What immortal animator
Was thy slender waist’s creator?
When the Rubble clan moved in,
Was Betty jealous of thy skin,
Thy noble nose, thy dimpled knee?
Did he who penciled Fred draw thee?
Wilma, Wilma, burning bright, ye
Cartoon goddess Aphrodite,
Was it Hanna or Barbera
Made thee hot as some caldera?
One of our challenges was going to be the book title anagram that best reflected the author or vice versa. Well, damn it, Heaney, WE ARE STILL DOING IT. Don’t shake your pencil-scratching skillz at us. (Some have said the book’s unorderable on Amazon now; Francis says try here.)*
* Narcissism alert: We will buy a copy of the book for anyone who comes up with the best anagram of our name — “Elizabeth Skurnick”, dumkopfs — plus “Old Hag” or “The Old Hag”. Lazyasses, download the e-book here.
Filed under: Lit-ish |
Super-fabulous Daedalus books has it at:
their site.
And you can read a bunch of them at ModernHumorist.com, unless they’ve taken them down.
It’s genius, genius, genius.
Comment by Lickona — 12/15/2005 @ 3:07 pm
for ELIZABETH SKURNICK OLD HAG:
SHIT, A BLOCKHEAD UK ZEN GIRL
LIZ: A BEACHED HULKING STORK
LIZ: A BEACHED STROKING HULK
LIZ: A BLEACHED HOG’S KINK RUT
LIZ USE THONG, LIKE HARDBACK
HIDE, KLUTZ, IGNORE BACKLASH
Comment by Jimmy Beck — 12/15/2005 @ 3:18 pm
Mmmkay. We may regret this.
LIZ THING CHEATING!
Comment by altehaggen — 12/15/2005 @ 3:21 pm
Zek, load the high snark cult?
Comment by Kate Dino — 12/15/2005 @ 10:26 pm
HIKE T’ LAKE, U TIGHT BRAZEN SCOLD!
Comment by Genevieve — 12/29/2005 @ 5:33 pm
For ELIZABETH SKURNICK THE OLD HAG:
Earthshaking cheek, loud blitz
Comment by Genevieve — 12/30/2005 @ 1:32 pm
Elizabeth Skurnick, the Old Hag:
Hot slug-like brazen thickhead
Comment by Genevieve — 12/30/2005 @ 1:47 pm
Elizabeth Skurnick, the Old Hag:
Elizabethan thug holds kicker
SCHEHERAZADE, HOT TUB, KILL KING (a headline from the Arabian Herald)
Scheherazade ’bout kill knight
Side biz? Hanukkah gelt. (chortle)
Heretic sold Hanukkah gelt biz.
She: lit biz. Credo: Hanukkah gelt!
Comment by Genevieve — 12/30/2005 @ 2:06 pm
Brazen silk-like thought ached.
Think zealous, blighted hacker.
Right! Sizable, hot knucklehead.
Zealous, hack, blighted thinker.
Oh! The likable huckster dazing.
Comment by Genevieve — 12/30/2005 @ 2:47 pm