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Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an artist, illustrator and writer known for his nonsensical poetry and his limericks, a form which he popularised. He was born in Highgate, a suburb of London, the 20th child of his parents and raised by his eldest sister, Ann, twenty-one years his senior. At the age of fifteen, he and his sister had to leave the family home and set up house together. He started work as a serious illustrator and his first publication, at the age of 19, was Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots in 1830. His paintings were well received and he was favorably compared with Audubon. Throughout his life he continued to paint seriously. He had a lifelong ambition to illustrate Tennyson's poems; near the end of his life a volume with a small number of illustrations was published, but his vision for the work was never realised.
He did not keep good health. From the age of seven until the time of his death he suffered frequent grand mal epileptic seizures, as well as bronchitis, asthma, and in later life, partial blindness.
In 1846 he published A Book of Nonsense, a volume of limericks which went through three editions and helped popularise the form. In 1865 The History of the Seven Families of the Lake Pipple-Popple was published, and in 1867 his most famous piece of nonsense, The Owl and the Pussycat, which he wrote for the children of his patron Edward Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby. Many other works followed.
Lear's writing
Edward Lear's nonsense works are distinguished by a facility of verbal invention and a poet's delight in the sounds of words, both real and imaginary. A stuffed rhinoceros becomes a "diaphanous doorscraper". A "blue Boss-Woss" plunges into "a perpendicular, spicular, orbicular, quadrangular, circular depth of soft mud". His heroes are Quangle-Wangles, Pobbles, and Jumblies. His most famous piece of verbal invention occurs in the closing lines of The Owl and the Pussycat: More on [ Edward Lear ]
Children's :: Literature
Poetry :: Literature
Light Verse :: Forms
Limerick :: Light Verse
Children's :: Genres
@laurenmechling Roald Dahl is often topsy-turvy! Poetry by Edward Lear. New kidlit: Zorgamazoo, Order of Odd-Fish, some Lemony Snicket.
naturallysteph (Stephanie Perkins) Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:43:00 -0000
@laurenmechling Roald Dahl is often topsy-turvy! Poetry by Edward Lear. New kidlit: Zorgamazoo, Order of Odd-Fish, some Lemony Snicket.
In other news, email spammers today are targeting me with Edward Lear poetry subject lines.Kind of wish I'd received the spam now.
KMJ_79 (Katrina Jackson) Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:16:00 -0000
In other news, email spammers today are targeting me with Edward Lear poetry subject lines.Kind of wish I'd received the spam now.
Edward Lear's Diary: Friday, 25 November 1859: W. LANGTON Pleasant breakfast & morning. T. Fairbairn left at 10. I ... http://bit.ly/5uh3A4
margraz (margraz) Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:06:23 -0000
Edward Lear's Diary: Friday, 25 November 1859: W. LANGTON Pleasant breakfast & morning. T. Fairbairn left at 10. I ... http://bit.ly/5uh3A4
Sweet! -- Edward Lear The Table and the Chair http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwU1G8a5uvc
soniario (Sonia Pinto) Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:00:14 -0000
Sweet! -- Edward Lear The Table and the Chair http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwU1G8a5uvc
Edward Lear's Diary: Thursday, 24 November 1859: T. Fairbairn. â Slept well. Fine day by a .. http://bit.ly/07IFLqP
margraz (margraz) Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:05:20 -0000
Edward Lear's Diary: Thursday, 24 November 1859: T. Fairbairn. ― Slept well. Fine day by a .. http://bit.ly/07IFLqP
Edward Lear's Diary: Wednesday, 23 November 1859: T. Fairbairn. Rose at 8. Packed. Thick fo.. http://bit.ly/08Z0SKs
margraz (margraz) Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:40:56 -0000
Edward Lear's Diary: Wednesday, 23 November 1859: T. Fairbairn. Rose at 8. Packed. Thick fo.. http://bit.ly/08Z0SKs
ANS Edward Lear Exhibit - All the zoological plates from Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots and Gleanings from the Menagerie and Aviary at Knowsley Hall.
Donald Barthelme, The Death of Edward Lear - A short story from Overnight to Many Distant Cities. New York: Penguin, 1983.
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E. Lear Portraits - from the National Portrait Gallery, London
Edward Lear - The Tate Gallery's Edward Lear holdings with details and some pictures.
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Edward Lear Books Central - Includes a biography, a forum, and links.
Edward Lear Home Page - The life, paintings and complete Nonsense poems of Edward Lear, as well as news on Nonsense in general.
Meta Description: [ Edward Lear's Life and Works, Nonsense Poems and Limericks ]
Edward Lear Hotel, Marble Arch, London - A commercial website for the hotel formerly the home of Edward Lear, the famous Victorian painter and limerick writer.
Meta Description: [ Formerly the home of Edward Lear, the famous Victorian painter and limerick writer ]
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Lear translations by Alik Gotlib - A small selection of limericks translated into Russian, accompanied by some of Lear's original drawings.
Lear, Limericks and Literature - An introduction to the limerick and other zany rhymes made famous by Edward Lear in the 1850's. An online lesson plan aimed at creative writing classes; includes information on the history of the limerick form, as well as biographical material on Lear.
Meta Description: [ Lear Limericks & Literature Lesson Plan available from Castlemoyle Books ]
Selected Poetry of Edward Lear (1812-1888) - Some of the best-known poems from Representative Poetry Online at the Univ. of Toronto
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