They say that love makes the world go round. If that is true, then laughter must come a close second. For most of us, when we hear a funny joke, we can’t wait to tell it to someone else and make them laugh. I love stuff that makes me laugh: TV & (old English) radio programs, comedy movies, jokes, joke books, books of cartoon strips (I have hundreds!) and (clean) stand-up comedy. And especially humorous rhymes. Harry Graham, though dated, is exceptionally meticulous and very clever. Ogden Nash is unorthodox and zany and his herding of words is delightfully innovative. Edward Lear has his moments and A A Milne and Roald Dahl have great poems for children (of all ages).
I was never a good storyteller in prose, but poetry was always one of my strengths. I wrote a few comedic poems at school, but started in earnest in 1992 as a way to lift myself out of depression, having made some bad choices and ended up in a dark place.
Making others laugh was initially a byproduct, but eventually turned into the goal.
I created an imaginary world where anything could happen and I was in complete control of what happened to the characters. I’ll tell you about that next time.