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Jewish World Review August 11, 2006 / 17 Menachem-Av, 5766 Nice Doggerel: Hounding the poet laureate By Gene Weingarten
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | When I heard that the new poet laureate of the United States was to be Donald Hall, the New Hampshire literary eminence, I was elated. The media accounts rightfully praised the beauty and sophistication of Hall's verse. But that's not why I was happy. I was happy because I knew something most in the media didn't. The respectable Donald Hall at times has been a joyful practitioner of some of the lowest, least dignified, raunchiest forms of poetry. In short, he's my kind of guy! He's done limericks, and he is a fan of the infinitely silly but challenging "Higgledy piggledies," also known as double dactyls. The rules of these are complex, unyielding, and moronic. So I decided to contact the new poet laureate and twit him about all this. I tried e-mail, only to learn that Mr. Hall apparently does not recognize the Internet. This did not entirely surprise me. I faxed him this: Higgledy piggledy Donald Hall, Laureate! News of it rains in an Imperfect storm, Tragicomedically Failing to mention his Seminal work in this Sorry-ass form. A few days later, this arrived on my fax machine: Higgledy piggledy Journalist Weingarten Challenges Laureate Hall with a boast. Dactyls are difficult. Columnar-metrical Efforts discredit The Washington Post. The man dared to criticize my choice of form! Who does he think he is? So I sent him this: Upon ascension to his lofty throne The poet, asked to face a task inaugural, Elects retreat: His prior sins disown, And heaps he scorn upon the craft of doggerel. 'Tis fair enough, if that's the master's stance Preferring verse adorned with bow and bonnet — One still can put some seltzer down the pants In idyll, ode or, as you see, the sonnet. Doth the man forsake his bawdy roots? Have those laurels swell'd the poet's head? Abjuring talk of wenches, knaves and toots, Transform'd by fame into a snob instead? I fear for what reply the bard shall make, — Is the future of the vulgar arts at stake? Nothing came back for a few days. Were my worst fears confirmed? Had he resigned the contest? I prodded him: Laureate Hall from New Hampshire Has mastered all genres, I amshire. He might claim his fine taste Makes his verses all chaste, But he loves dirty limericks, for damnshire. And that elicited a quick reply: "You win, for your limerick. About the sonnet, the less said the better. Rumor has it that sonnets use 14 lines of iambic pentameter. Yours has 14 lines." Ow! Hall then went on: "I suggest that we move on to the "Clerihew." Line one is a proper name. Line two, of any length, rhymes with line one, and the last two lines rhyme. When I was at Oxford a friend of mine wrote: Donald Hall / Is fat and tall / But the ego within the matter / Is taller and fatter." So: Weingarten (Gene) Wrote a limerick abominably clean But his rhymes on New Hampshire — I've said it — Do him credit. "Abominably" clean! With the judicious choice of a word the laureate saves the lowbrow arts, while remaining a gentleman. In conclusion, and gratitude, I offer him this: Hall (Donald) Shares something important with Reagan (Ronald). Though he slums in Nantucket, where the lewd get their kicks — None of it sticks. Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Gene Weingarten writes the Below the Beltway humor column for The Washington Post. To comment, please click here.
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