English Nonsense
June 24th was the anniversary of the 1965 publication of John Lennon's second book of drawings and nonsense rhymes, A Spaniard In the Works. I also read In His Own Write (1964) and I still have my copies.
The title is a pun on the expression "a spanner in the works.”
There seems to be a deep history of nonsense verse in British humour. The English especially seem to excel at silliness. Lennon was my introduction to literary silliness. I’ve also experienced it in Lewis Carroll, Spike Milligan, Monty Python, and Douglas Adams. Even Brexit! I don't have a high regard for nonsense - even clever nonsense - even though I recognize it is an acknowledged literary genre with a facility for word play, logic and fantasy. I mean, I have little regard for adult silliness.
I recently re-read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I read the entire Hitchhikers guide when I was in university, and I thought it was brilliant! For some time, I’ve pondered re-reading the series and I finally got around to re-reading the first book. But this time I despised it the second time round. In high school I loved Monty Python’s Flying Circus with a teenager’s spastic sense of humour, but for the most part it hasn’t aged well with me.