Friday, 1 February 2008

Long poem titles...the longer the better!

Looking for lengthy poem titles by famous poets? The longest title unearthed to date at Poet-in-Residence is this rustic headline from Robert Burns,-

The Auld Farmer's New-Year-Morning Salutation to his Auld Mare, Maggie, on giving her the Accustomed Ripp of Corn to Hansel in the New-Year

If you know of a longer one please click on the 'post a comment' line below and post it in - if it's long enough and suitable enough it could be featured!

UPDATE: a worthy and wordy long-title challenger has emerged. From William Wordsworth comes the following,-

Lines written at a small distance from my house, and sent by my little boy to the person to whom they are addressed.

Good try but no cigar, William! Burns still leads.

UPDATE: from the fertile mind of American Poet Laureate (2001-3) Billy Collins, a decent challenge to leader Burns,-

Reading an Anthology of Chinese Poems of the Sung Dynasty, I pause to Admire the Length and Clarity of Their Titles.

Sorry, Billy. You backed the wrong horse. You should have been reading anthologies of poems from Scotland.

UPDATE: 2nd challenge from the lakeland rambler with an eye for a verse, Wordsworth,-

Lines Left upon a Seat in a Yew-Tree Which Stands Near the Lake of Esthwaite, on a Desolate Part of the Shore, Yet Commanding a Beautiful Prospect

Joint-leader with Robbie Burns! Well done, William.

UPDATE: William Blake enters the fray. A piece of his political doggerel bears the following title:

On the Great Encouragement Given by the English Nobility & Gentry to Correggio, Rubens, Rembrandt, Reynolds, Gainsborough, Catalani, Du Crowe, & Dilbury Doodle

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