200 Years Since the Birth of Mr Lear

As a practitioner of the art of turning the world upside down using verse and illustrations, it would be churlish and infantile of me, especially during his bicentennial year, not to recognize the Debt I owe to Mr. Edward Lear…

The debt I owe him is not a question of influence, I love reading about the exploits of toeless Pobbles and Cross Species Weddings, but if I’d never had read a single word written by Mr Lear I’d still owe him the debt, for the simple reason that no one is as synonymous with Nonsense Literature, Nonsense Verse and Nonsense pictures as Edward Lear.

Theodore Geisel may have examined life through the wrong end on the telescope, but the telescope was set up and polished by Mr Lear and for this, I am forever grateful…

So this year is 200 years since Edward Lear’s birth and numerous events are in the planning.

There are two wonderful sites dedicated to Lear’s work and other nonsense writings and I would suggest all pop along to take a look. To those unfamiliar with Mr Lear’s work, these sites are great places to become acquainted… The Sites are:

http://nonsenselit.wordpress.com/about/

And

http://leardiaries.wordpress.com/

Events planned for the bicentennial are also listed within the first Blog….

And if you’re wondering what the fuss was about, let the following video point you in the direction of some wonderful Nonsense…