“My favorite journey is looking out the window.”
1,2,3 Edward Gorey's drawings
"What I'm really interested in is everyday life. It's dreadfully hazardous. I never could understand why people always feel they have to climb up Mount Everest when you know it's quite dangerous getting out of bed."*
"I really think I write about everyday life. I don't think I'm quite as odd as others say I am. Life is intrinsically, well, boring and dangerous at the same time. At any given moment the floor may open up. Of course, it almost never does; that's what makes it so boring."
Edward Gorey's mock abecederian book and nursery rhymes, The Gashlycrumbs Tinies.
A is for Amy who fell down the stairs.
B is for Basil assaulted by bears.
C is for Clara who wasted away.
D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh.
E is for Ernest who choked on a peach.
F is for Fanny sucked dry by a leech.
G is for George smothered under a rug.
H is for Hector done in by a thug.
I is for Ida who drowned in a lake.
J is for James who took lye by mistake.
K is for Kate who was struck with an axe.
L is for Leo who choked on some tacks.
M is for Maud who was swept out to sea.
N is for Neville who died of ennui.
O is for Olive run through with an awl.
P is for Prue trampled flat in a brawl.
Q is for Quentin who sank on a mire.
R is for Rhoda consumed by a fire.
S is for Susan who perished of fits.
T is for Titus who flew into bits.
U is for Una who slipped down a drain.
V is for Victor squashed under a train.
W is for Winnie embedded in ice.
X is for Xerxes devoured by mice.
Y is for Yorick whose head was bashed in.
Z is for Zillah who drank too much gin.
1000 Bruxelles
Belgique
Son dernier opus publié "Total zoo" est plus léger bien qu'extra tout de même. (De toute façon tout est bon chez Gorey).
ReplyDeleteEn passant, vos articles sont top !
Merci de me faire découvrir cette traduction par Jacques Roubaud qui vient de paraître chez Attila. Comment faîtes-vous pour être ainsi sur tous les fronts? Votre passage me réjouit.
DeleteI love the Edward Gorey quotes ..."Of course, it almost never does; that's what makes it so boring." !!! Hilarious and true. KR CjW
ReplyDeleteI met him at a gathering at the famed Gotham Book Mart on 47th street, also stood in line next to Greta Garbo at the long gone Tender Buttons. Had a letter writing relationship with Virgil Thomson while he resided at the Hotel Chelsea and was friends with Robert Frank where we met in Mabou, Cape Breton. He was damn funny and certainly this is the same for Gorey. Ellen
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