tanka

what is tanka? < ? >

samples of tanka < ! ! >

T h e Y ’ s

The sheer presence of her in the room arose in him the strangest feelings. The sight of her reducing him to a 13-year-old boy, as he bitterly recalled that afternoon when they’d kissed.

"I don’t want any more treegrows. Now I want ailurophiles. And some catastrophic sympathy."

Comment: South America's new leftwing leaders should heed Brazil's experience, write Sue Branford and Hilary Wainwright.

"Oh come, child
Come and rescue me
’cause you have seen some
Unbelievable things"

> ! <

< ! >

meaningful, suggestive, indicative, evocative, revealing, expressive, pregnant

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A Word A Day

This week's theme: words related to words, writing, and language.

Sprachgefuhl (SHPRAKH-guh-fyool) noun
A feeling for language or a sensitivity for what is correct language.[From German Sprachgefuhl, from Sprache (language) and Gefühl (feeling).]

If you have Sprachgefuhl, you have an ear for idiomatically appropriate language. The best illustration of Sprachgefuhl, or the lack of it, was an 1855 Portuguese-English phrase book intended to help Portuguese speakers master the English language.

Titled "English As She Is Spoke", it was authored by one Pedro Carolino. The only problem was that Pedro didn't know any English. On the plus side, he did have a Portuguese-French phrase book. Pedro simply picked up a French-English dictionary and tried the circuitous route: Portuguese to French to English. The result was such gems as:

Names for body parts:
"Of the Man: The inferior lip; The superior lip; The fat of the leg."

Food: "Eatings: Some black pudding; A little mine; Hog fat; Some wigs; Vegetables boiled to a pap."

Swimming instructions: "For to swim: I row upon the belly on the back and between two waters."

Idioms: "Idiotism: Cat scalded fear the cold water."

This book was even used as a textbook in the Portuguese colony of Macao.I regret to say they eventually stopped using it. Imagine, in just a few years, we could have witnessed a lovely new strain of the English language take root.

Pedro was simply ahead of his time. Today anyone can achieve the sameresults with computer translation.

-Anu Garg (garg@wordsmith.org)

"Despite this fecundity (perhaps because of it) Avallone had major problems with his raw material: words, and the uses to which they can be put. He was not, in short, a man with an innate Sprachgefuhl." Jack Adrian; Obituary: Michael Avallone; Independent (London, UK); Mar 20, 1999.

it's limerick time!

limericks sources on the internet:

http://home.earthlink.net/~kristenaa/
[limericks sorted out into categories. neat display.]

http://www.loonylimericks.com/
[take a tip from me, don't waste your time browsing this site.]

A limerick fan from Australia
regarded his work as a failure:
his verses were fine
until the fourth line
???? ???? ??? ??? ?????

"Limerick Chick"

There once was an old man of Esser,
Whose knowledge grew lesser and lesser,
It at last grew so small
He knew nothing at all,
And now he's a college professor.

Noam Kuzar

There once was a man from Nantucket
Whose dick was so long he could suck it
He said with a grin
As he wiped off his chin,
"If my ear were a c#%+ I would f@#* it!"

Dan Benko

There once was a man named McGill,
Whose acts grew exceedingly ill,
He insisted on habits,
involving white rabbits,
and a bird with a flexible bill.

"Al the Pal"

A flea and a fly in a flue
Were imprisoned, so what could they do?
Said the fly, "let us flee!"
"Let us fly!" said the flea.
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

Ogden Nash

ailurophile

Stein for Brazil?

Stein for Brazil?

I went a trawling through this site
like one of Eric's gulls
feeding with a frenzy on words so bright
whilst experiencing one of life's lazy lulls
and you'd think after reading 90 minutes of quality prose,
that I could write better than this!
anyways,I chanced upon a lovely line
written in typical samba rhythm
by one Marcus Murilo,
describing how Brazil now lord it over
the formulaic attacking forces of the founders :

"the creature has taken over the role of the creator"

and then some!
though some bright spark, will undoubtedly
tell me, that the line is from a classic,
perhaps Frankenstein,
although there's no sign
of Big Frankiein
the revered shirts of the CSF
unless of course
their snappy strikers
have swiped his teeth!



© Clik the mouse, 21st July 2005

Ronaldo and Ronaldinho -
can there be any other explanation?;-)

Inspired by a very strange mixture of poems :
'GOD Save The Queen', by Marcus Murilo
and the one that sent me searching :
'Poor Pat', by Daniel McDonagh

;)

http://www.leviathan.co.uk/menu.html

She did not tell them to clean up their lives or to go and sin no more. She did not tell them they were the blessed of the earth, its inheriting meek or its glorybound pure.
She told them that the only grace they could have was the grace they could imagine. That if they could not see it, they would not have it.

(Beloved, p. 88, Toni Morrison)

“He saw them boys do that to me and let them keep on breathing air? He saw? He saw? He saw?”
“Hey! Hey! Listen up. Let me tell you something. A main ain’t a goddam ax. Chopping, hacking, busting every goddam minute of the day. Things get to him. Things he can’t chop down because they’re inside.”

(Beloved, p. 69, Toni Morrison)

the end.

"The end is when there is no more,
but some days don't end with evening;
I don't even know how endless the end is,
but love doesn't end with one's leaving."

(Mommy: what when why, Katy Cox)