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Doggerel and Pony Show
Any time you can get dogs and ponies, of any size, into the same act, you have a winner. Wallace Tripp got that combination down in splendidly ridiculous form in his 1974 illustrated book of verse A Great Big Ugly Man Came Up and Tied His Horse to Me. The moment after this month’s theme came to mind, Tripp’s title poem came to mind, both words and illustrations.
I have enjoyed the illustrations of Maurice Sendak, and Wallace Tripp throughout the years. Both laid down striking illustrations with pen and ink, often colorized with another medium. Wallace Tripp’s “book of nonsense verse” consists of children’s nursery rhymes and nonsense verse. Each bit of doggerel is perfectly played off by a preposterous scene. Consider the title poem:
As I was standing in the street,
As quiet as could be,
A great big ugly man came up
And tied his horse to me.
That is a silly bit of verse that might prompt a giggle or two. Now watch the illustrator turn it up to 11, in the cover illustration and on the picture accompanying the bit of verse:
The expression on the horse’s face, the bewilderment on the face of the small creature, as the horse walks off through the village, it is all a nonsense but a delightful nonsense. If you are at all intrigued by Wallace Tripp’s work, you can borrow A Great Big Ugly Man Came Up and Tied His Horse to Me from the virtual library at archive.org.
Published in Group Writing
In 1991 I took a trip to Ireland. I don’t remember exactly where but I meet an Irishman that was standing on a corner with a pony and a dog. On his command the dog would jump up on the pony and sit. Of course for a few bucks you could get your picture taken or he had postcards made up. Cool way to make a buck.
I hate it when that happens.
My favorite Sendak story was the one about a little boy who sent him a fan letter and his own illustration. Sendak wrote him back, praising the child’s drawing. Later, he got another letter from the boy’s mother. She said that her son was so excited when he got his letter that he ate it.
I believe Sendak said something like, “that’s the best review I’ve ever gotten.”
By the way, I loved this movie:
I told you I’d be right back.
Join in the fun with your own contribution to our July Group Writing theme: “The Doggerel Days of Summer.”
Interested in Group Writing topics that came before? See the handy compendium of monthly themes. Check out links in the Group Writing Group. You can also join the group to get a notification when a new monthly theme is posted.
Join in the fun with your own contribution to our July Group Writing theme: “The Doggerel Days of Summer.”
Interested in Group Writing topics that came before? See the handy compendium of monthly themes. Check out links in the Group Writing Group. You can also join the group to get a notification when a new monthly theme is posted.