In Competition No. 3240, you were invited to tell the life story of a well-known figure in three limericks.
In the excellent How to Be Well-Versed in Poetry, E.O. Parrott summed up the charms of the form neatly:
With a shape of its own it’s imbued – That’s the limerick, witty or lewd; Two lines, then you oughter Have two more, much shorter Then one longer that’s funny or rude.
Though there was wit aplenty in the entry, you there was little appetite for bawdiness. Brian Murdoch, Sylvia Fairley, Frank Upton, Carolyn Beckingham and David Silverman earn honourable mentions.
The prize winners, printed below, are rewarded with £25 each.
A young poet and man about town Earns bon mot virtuoso renown, Aesthetic, ironic And self-made iconic As philosopher/dandy/wit/clown. Comic plays win him fortune and fame, Make his British lit pantheon name.
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