Composed and illustrated in 2019, each verse of poetaster Ulysses ("Uly") Poe's illuminated nonsense lyric "What A's NOT For," at the time addressed to the poet's neighbor's children, indicated to that pair of anonymous siblings, one at a time in alphabetical order, not only a series of 26 items which A and the other 25 alphabet letters did not initialize but also a second series, every letter of which in each of the 26 multi-word items in that series began with the same key letter.
The initial of each item named was then illuminated in an image created in colored pencils.
Uly's revision of that illuminated (and, it's hoped, now illuminating) ABC first widens the scope of its addressees by speaking to a series of individuals drawn from history and legend whose names begin with their verse's key letter and each of whom has proven instrumental in the creation of one or another invention contributing to the evolution of alphabets.
Additionally, now the items which each letter is shown to be NOT for are also pictured -- in black-and-white line drawings.
For a detailed view of any of the images, scroll over and click on them.
"(Tood-) ay is for Amy."
-- Sung by Paul in the Sondheim musical "Company."
A is for Apple (as well as for Ape) --
also Ant and Antilles and Audiotape.
A's been for all those for ages, ma bro,
tho' what A AIN'T for: ain't THAT what ya'll yearn to know...?
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Armadillo chips...?
|
No, Agrippa,* A's NOT for four
armadillo chips...although al-
low'd as afterthought's an Appa-
loosan acrobat:
*Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, Renaissance polymath, creates Celestial Alphabet c. 1525.
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Bien cuit bacon strips...?
|
B...? No, Byrom,* B's NOT for four
bien cuit bacon strips. Big Brother's
brief...? Be babysitting's bad boys'
bowler'd bureaucrat:
*British poet John Byrom invents new system of shorthand c. 1715.
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Cornucopias...?
|
C...? No, Cyril,* C's NOT for four
cornucopias...'cuz (candid-
ly) crisp coatings choke cute chocolate-
cover'd crocodiles:
*With his brother, Methodius, St. Cyril is credited with devising Glagolithic alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavic in 863.
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"Donciad"s Don does...?
|
D...? No, no, Dee,* D's NOT for four
"Donciad"s Drumpf does. Duets D
does distinguish...? Dartmouth's dapper
dancing discophiles:
*John Dee, court astronomer to Elizabeth I, invents Enochian alphabet c. 1582.
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Easter Islanders...?
|
No, Emmerkar,* E's NOT for four
Easter Islanders. Each earnest
epileptic elf exhibits
elasticities:
*To this legendary Sumerian king (name accented on the second syllable) is ascribed invention of cuneiform c. 2300 BC.
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Four-foot faux fox furs...?
|
F...? No, Franklin,* F's NOT for four
four-foot faux fox furs. Fork'd fins fore-
tell ferocious (fatal...?) feeding-
frenzy fantasies:
*Ben proposes phonetic alphabet based on Latin ABCs while containing additional letters created by him c. 768.
 |
Gibbous garden gnomes...?
|
No, Gomango,* G's NOT for four
gibbous garden gnomes. Gay gyro-
geeks grab gravity's gynormous
Gs: Go, galivanters!
*Indian language activist Mangel Gomango invents Sorang Sompeng script in 1936.
 |
Hard hats hiding Holmes...?
|
H, Herr Hill*...? No, no, NOT for four
hard hats hiding Holmes. Hot hands held
high, Huns holler, heartily, "Heil,
Hitler's hierophanters!"
*British stenographer James Hill develops Teeline Shorthand, originally for use by journalists, c. 1968.
 |
Irish Idahoes...?
|
I...? No, Ibrahim.* NOT for four
Irish Idahoes, if I in-
stead, indeed, imports illumi-
nated isobars:
* Ibrahim Njoya, King of Cameroon, invents Bamum script c. 1910.
 |
Js by Jalen Rose...?
|
J, Jenticha*...? No, NOT for four
Js by Jalen Rose. Jock Jalen's
joy...? Just jostling jowl-jamm'd jack-o'-
lantern'd jaguars:
*K. B. Jenticha invents Jenticha script for Indian/Nepalese
Sunwar language in 1942. (Js reference jump-shots in basketball.)
 |
Kudus kill'd by Rhodes...?
|
K, Kukai*...? No, K's NOT for four
kudus kill'd by Rhodes. Kan't (sik) kind
kindergarten kids keep keening
kosher katydids...?
*To Japanese monk Kukai is traditionally ascribed invention of Kana syllabary c. 806 AD.
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Lizards' Liebestods...?
|
L, Le Jeune*...? No, L's NOT for four
lizards' Liebestods. Look! Lanky
lawyer Laughin' Lincoln's left lifts
lofty lilac lids:
*Canadian J-M-R Le Jeune creates Chinook writing in 1893.
 |
| Macaroni shapes...? |
M...? No, Mr. Morse*! NOT for four
macaroni shapes. Mere mugging --
mostly (maybe) miming mad mal-
icious malcontents:
*American inventor S. F. B. Morse invents code named after himself.
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Nostradamus napes...?
|
No, Nurhaci.* N's NOT for four
Nostradamus napes. Nerds nearly
never notice nice new neighbor-
ly non-residents:
*This Manchurian king (or his translators Erdeni and Gagai...?) invents Manchu alphabet in 1599.
(continued elsewhere)
