I just found out that today (July 10) is National Clerihew Day. What the heck’s a clerihew? It’s a “whimsical, four-line biographical poem invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley.”
More specifically, clerihews are four-lines long with an A-A-B-B rhyme scheme and irregular meter. The first line names a person — the subject of the poem.
Here are a couple I’ve written about writers:
Edgar Allen Poe
A writerly bro
Who’s famed for the Raven.
What a scary poem maven!
*****
The author George Orwell
We ought not ignore well;
His writings polemic
Ain’t at all academic.
*****
And here are two about actresses:
Bette Davis
Film joy gave us.
Seduced gals and guys
With Bette Davis Eyes.
*****
Mae West
For life had zest.
Stoked gals and blokes
With “evil” jokes.
*****
(You can find my political clerihews here.)
Happy birthday to George Orwell, born June 25, 1903.
