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2005-12-28 - 2:17 p.m.

The problem with literary parodies is that, even with a brilliant premise and good intentions, it's hard to sustain the laughs over the course of a whole book. (See Chris Elliott's promising but difficult-to-finish Shroud of the Thwacker.)

And the problem with "humor" books is that even if they're funny, they leave you with a sort of empty, post-candy feeling.

But today I read a book that is both a brilliant literary parody and a yuk-a-minute: Park Slope's own Francis Heaney's Holy Tango, wherein he creates anagrams of authors' names, and then writes a poem or dramatic scene based on the anagram, in the manner of that author.

The Robert Burns (Robber Runts) and Emily Dickinson (Skinny Domicile) ones in particular had me a-laffin'.

I have a skinny Domicile�
Its Door is very narrow.
�Twill keep�I hope�the Reaper out�
His Scythe�and Bones�and Marrow.
... (etc.)

The author has also done some song parodies, downloadable on the linked site.

thoughts? (5 comments so far)

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