A Blog of Bosh

The Blog of Bosh has been online for exactly ten years today, the first post being dated 19 October 2000. It started on the pre-Google Blogspot and then moved to the present self-hosted Wordpress, which is powerful but requires frequent time-consuming maintenance.
Since I started the Edward Lear Diaries project, time has been scarce and I [...]

The tragic consequences of being a missionary in Timbuctoo were the subject of one of the infrequent comic strips in Punch (22 February 1868, vol. 54, pp. 80-1).
The little poem around which the story turns is known in several different versions and has been variously attributed, but, as far as I know, no final agreement [...]

Moonshine, a magazine established in 1879, published the following parody of Edward Lear’s “Akond of Swat” on 1 January 1898 (p. 2); it was prompted by the leading dramatic critic of its age Clement Scott’s assertion that “it was practically impossible for any woman to remain on the stage and retain her womanly modesty,” a [...]

Old Billy ushers in the day when in the early morn
He winds a merry roundelay upon his crumpled horn.
Peter Newell, from Harper’s Young People, vol. XV, No. 766, 3 July 1894, p. 616.

My Italian translation of Peter Newell’s Rocket Book, Il libro esplosivo, has been out for some time now. The publisher, orecchio acerbo, have a beautiful book trailer on YouTube:

While you are there, don’t miss the short for Stefano Benni’s first children’s book, Miss Galassia:

On the Beano site you can now read the full comic-book adaptation of Edward Lear’s “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat” by Hunt Emerson. The last page includes a short biography of the poet.

Nancy Hill, a photographer and writer as well as old time fan of Edward Lear’s nonsense, has a new site showcasing her photographic work. Of particular interest are two portfolios: Fools and Limericks.

A few more interesting posts from the incredibly lively world of animation blogs:
Michael Sporn has four new nonsense-related articles:

Fantasia Program 1 & 2: a souvenir booklet sold with the initial roadshow presentation of Fantasia.
Alices: on the clash on Alice animations between Disney and Lou Bunin.
Belloc’s Bestiary.
Steig’s Bdsplr: on William Steig’s children books.

Mark Meyerson has [...]

A controversy seems to have been raised by the Ofsted report on poetry in schools, which maintains that British pupils are not prepared to appreciate classic poetry because of a focus on a few poems, which are considered not “genuinely challenging.”
When it comes to citing these supposedly unstimulating poems, newspapers, in particular the Times that [...]

Michael Sporn has published the second part of Errol LeCain’s illustrations for Mr. Mistoffelees with Mungojerrie and Rumpeltealzer, go see them! Also see previous post.