Not un-
pleasant to know?
Mr. Nabokov:*
he's
whose
novels -- Pale Fire and Lolita --
promptly
wring from one murmur (or
sob or cough),
even
faster than
dashes one's cheetah.
Though
his
characters frequently "have
it off,"
spreading
Brie on their butts (or
Velveeta),
that's
no
reason to dis Mr. Nabokov.
Drown that
riff; down a stiff
Margarita!
* Vladimir Nabokov, his last name here pronounced with accent
on the first syllable, as it in fact, whether rightly or wrongly, often is, despite the author's stated
preference for a pronunciation stressing the second syllable. An octave
employing the man's preferred pronunciation appears just below.
Not un-
pleasant to know? Vlad Nabokov;
he's the
bloke of whom, prior, we
spoke of.
From his
haut fam'ly home, a baroque hof
in St.
Petersburg, Vladimir broke off.
This
dude
died of bronchitis -- a slow cough --
but his
writing's miraculous: no scoff-
ing at
pleasant-to-know Vlad Nabokov:
(Lepi-
dopterist, too: such the show-off!)
Not un-
pleasant to know? Ogden Nash:
though
New
York born, a true Baltimoron.
Penning
packets of puns was his
"pash" --
both in
peacetime and
when 'twas a war on --
done for
barter, or, often, for
cash.
Asked if
blithe, Nash repli'the, "Si, Senor! Hohn-
(sic) -or
bright*...else I might not be Nash.
Who
im-
plies otherwise? Shown
the door, hon."**
* Read "honor bright" here, meaning 'on my honor.'
** Nash's use of the local
honorific (or 'hon'orific?) 'hon' underscores the man's genuine
Baltimoronstrosity.
Not un-
pleasant to know: Mr. Poe;*
of the
myst'ry macab'e he be
maven,
going
places less brave dare
not go:
deep
in
dialogue dark -- with a raven.
What
pos-
sess'd him? We simply don't know.
Offered
Edgar, "I ain't
misbehavin'!"
But as
Poe
reaps, so po' Poe must sow,
he to
madness eventu'lly gave in.
* Edgar Allen Poe
Not un-
pleasant to know: Mrs. Parker,*
whose bon
mots -- (say) "Men seldom make passes
(that et-
cet'ra)" -- while launched as a lark, were
quite na-
ive 'bout attractive
spec'd lasses.
Well one
asks, "Would Dot's dactyls
play darker
had they
prophesied Mrs. Onassis?
Or a
self-shaded shy Mrs. Parker --
both of
whom made much room
for dark glasses?"
* Dorothy Parker
Not un-
pleasant to know: Mr. Peake.*
Prince
of
painters, he penned Titus Groan.
Writing
Gormenghast later that
week,
he then
tossed off his Titus Alone.
If you
fantastic
fantasy seek,
you
should
know: Mervyn's output's thus
known.
Not un-
pleasant to boot: Mervyn Peake,
though
to
deadly dementia prone.
* Mervyn Peake
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