Comments on: Not Much Rhymes With “Kondratieff Waves,” Alas

By: Crooked Timber » » Poetry and Powers

Crooked Timber » » Poetry and Powers — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 15:05:42 +0000

[...] Our Scott has unleashed impressive versificational forces (here and here). In comments, Adam Roberts suggests we try to get The Crooked Timber Littel Booke of Political, Philosophical and Scientifik Limerics out by X-Mas. I am duty-bound to report that I have already written A Philosophical Abecedarium, if somehow you managed to miss it back in 2002. I invite new contributions. (I’ve got two ‘k’s, so I might as well have dupes for the others.) [...]

By: Crooked Timber » » New Literary History

Crooked Timber » » New Literary History — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 22:38:08 +0000

[...] A casual reference to limerick-writing here last week had the effect of unleashing hitherto unexpected powers of versification among some of Crooked Timber’s readership. Seriously, I had no idea. At the risk of lowering the tone of this august blog, I feel it may be time to record the one limerick I ever previously had a chance to witness being composed. This took place at Cornell University in July 1980, during the Telluride Association Summer Program. The writing was a team effort. I was not really involved (having just that week paired off with my first-ever girlfriend, the kind of thing that tends to dominate one’s attention, particularly at the age of 17) but do recall walking past the blackboard at various points throughout the evening as the limerick was being worked out, line by line. [...]

By: Henry (not the famous one)

Henry (not the famous one) — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 02:26:16 +0000

And I always thought that “trough full” and “awful” from that same song was the weirdest of them all. As much as I love that song I always flinched inwardly at that word.

But then I never noticed the rhyme that bad jim pointed out. I’ll still stick with trough full

By: bad Jim

bad Jim — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 08:24:09 +0000

You might think you’re hep, man,
but you ain’t.

The weirdest rhyme I know is from Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life”:

Romance is mush,
Stifling those who strive.
I’ll live a lush life in some small dive

wherein “mush/stife” rhymes with “lush life”. Top one that before you claim there is none.

By: Henry (not the famous one)

Henry (not the famous one) — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 05:20:11 +0000

There once was a young apparatchick
Named Bukharin, whose friends called him Nick.
He turned left and then right
But try as he might
He died a young Old Bolshevik.

When someone comes up with a rhyme for Nepman I’ll try to give this some historical depth, man.

By: Glorious Godfrey

Glorious Godfrey — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 14:35:55 +0000

I’m so sorry about this…

When I hear about Ragnarok
I always go “WTF?”

Horus Thelemite and his Aeon
have always left me cold;
I’ll take the end of fiat money,
squatting on a heap of gold.

Indeed, a Von Mises groupie’s
talk of deflation
gives me more hope than the Rapture
and the Tribulation.

Zoological, Malthusian, hard-nosed
is the crackpottery I crave;
demographic time-bombs will sink my sanity
under Kondratieff waves.

By: bad Jim

bad Jim — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 08:53:25 +0000

No place else to put this:

They’re onto my con. Drat! I have
to catch the next Kondratieff
wave to the shore
or else there’ll be more
debt to piss Hannity off.

The last line needs work, but even an evening spent staring at the stars, alert for Geminids, pondering tortured rhymes, produced nothing better.

By: patrick

patrick — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 15:00:01 +0000

What about:

“Vainglorious knaves”, my ass?

By: ajay

ajay — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 09:55:18 +0000

11. Neither – it’s boo-KHAR-een. That’s a “kh” as in “loch”, not a “k”.

By: ben wolfson

ben wolfson — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 22:42:31 +0000

10: not the way I heard it.

By: abb1

abb1 — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 19:31:59 +0000

Calm evening
Bukharin listens
Kondratieff waves roar

By: Marc Mulholland

Marc Mulholland — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 18:50:37 +0000

Song of the Decent Left #2

Disappointing was the proletariat,
Modern bourgeoisie is where it’s at,
So sing their agency,
Bombs will make ye free.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 18:16:03 +0000

Song of the Decent Left

Mart Peretz, Norm Geras, Vic Hanson, Mike
(call him Michael)
Ignatieff, Dave
Aaronovitch, gushing out history like
surfers on a
Kondratieff Wave

By: Michael Greinecker

Michael Greinecker — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 15:57:24 +0000

Following Hume, he treated all men as knaves,
But still he forgot to adjust for Kondratieff Waves.

By: radek

radek — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 15:28:53 +0000

BOOkareen