Limerick license, poetic license, in the [was US] UK

[Mark Mandel]

What about "There once was a(n)...", or is that only more recent?

m a m

On Sun, Nov 1, 2009 at 10:25 AM, Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu> wrote:

> Thanks Joel.
> We have Limericks (poems) securely named as currently defined from
> 1895. We have
> 1880 and 1881 US uses of "Limerick Rhymes" that may be the same poem type.
> "Limerick Rhymes" in 1896 in UK reliably is the poem type. The US uses of
> "Limerick rhymes" may have been tacked on to a plagiarized 1879 book set in
> Qxford. So, maybe start with "Limerick Rhymes."
> If you're still interested, maybe try "will/won't you come up (come up) up
> to
> Limerick (town)" that we have in 1898ff as a claimed Limerick composition
> game
> chorus and claimed years later by his son as 1880 in Oxford when the (CE)
> Bishop of Limerick got an honorary degree, supposedly chanted (though not
> necessarily with Limerick poems included, just the chorus).
> I'd try "come to Limerick" (meaning "surrender," "get with the program,"
> etc.)
> Maybe exclude [Limerick(s)]: gloves, lace, fishhooks, tobacco.
> Maybe Limerick(s) plus "there was an old/young..." or plus Oxford.
> good luck,
> Stephen
>
> PS IIRC Charles L. Graves, the Bishop's son, eventually wrote for Pink 'Un,
> though later. Also Wilkes the owner of a NY newspaper (with 1863 poems)
> once
> owned Police Gazette (the 1880 Limerick source), and similar to Pink 'Un.
> Kipling was in the US when an 1895 letter from his publisher Heinemann
> mentioned Limericks....
>
> Quoting "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>:
>
> > This Gale database is that which is called "19th Century UK
> > Periodicals Online, 1800-1900" by Harvard.  I can access it next time
> > I am within their walls, almost certainly within about 10 days.
> >
> > Stephen, can I assume that only direct hits on "limeric[k]" are
> > desired;?  Or are there other search terms that may be useful, to
> > find related material?
> >
> > Joel
> >
> > At 11/1/2009 06:39 AM, Stephen Goranson wrote:
> >
> >> 5) Gershon Legman guessed that the (UK) The Sporting Times aka the
> >> "Pink 'Un"
> >> might have early Limerick citations. According to Worldcat, the
> >> Wellcome Library
> >> page lists this serial as included in 19th century UK periodicals.
> >> Series 1: new
> >> readerships [Gale]. Is that accurate? I don't have access to that
> >> database. If anyone has digital access to The Pink 'Un, please consider
> >> searching and reporting any early "Limerick" use. Thanks.
> >>
> >> Stephen Goranson
> >> http://www.duke.edu/~goranson <http://www.duke.edu/%7Egoranson>
> >
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> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
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