Welcome to Today’s FYB Post featuring the Poem The Gashlycrumb Tinies by the Infamous Writer, Artist, Illustrator, and Tony Award winning Costume Designer Edward Gorey (February 22, 1925 to April 15, 2000) set to Music by Daisy Chapman and Red Carousel. Gorey’s Characteristic Pen-and-Ink drawings often Depict Vauge and Unsettling Narrative Scenes in Both Victorian as well as Edwardian Setting that have Built a Long Term Cult Following Gorey wrote The Gashlycrumb tinies in 1963 and the Poem that serves Cautionary Tale of being Aware of all the Deadly perils of Life that can bring about a Person’s Early Demise. The Poem was once summed up by George Boomer who said “(The Poem) Is a rebellion against a view of childhood that is sunny, idyllic, and instructive.”. The Poem follows a Fairly Simple and Dark Theme Combining The Alphabet, Children, and a Horrible Fate for Each of the Children. The Poem consists of Child with a Name Starting with each Letter of The Alphabet in Chronological Order. What makes this Poem rather Demented is Each Child Mentioned Meets a Variety of Gruesome Deaths carried out in Some Brutally Creative Way.
Throughout Gorey’s Illustrious Career Gorey was known for His Illustrated Books as well as Drawing Cover Art or Illustrations for Other Writers. Gorey illustrated Over 200 Book Covers for a Variety of Publishing Houses including Doubleday Anchor, Random House’s Looking Glass Library, Bubbs-Merrill, and as a Free Lance Artist. Among other Works Gorey illustrated Bram Stoker’s Dracula, H.G. Wells’ The War Of The Worlds, and T.S. Elliot’s Old Possum’s Book Of Practical Cats. When Gorey was working as a Freelance Writer/Illustrator He used several Pen Names, some of which were Anagrams of His First and Last Name like Ogdred Weary, Dogear Wryde, Ms. Regera Dowdy, just to Name a Few. Meanwhile Gorey used Other Pen Names for His Original Work Too such as O. Mude (which is German for O. Weary), and Eduard Blutig which is a German Pun on His Own Name. Also During His Career Gorey conducted Literary Experiments like. Creating Wordless Books, Books the Size of a Matchbox, Pop Up books, and Books that were/are Comprised Entirely of Inanimate Objects.
Gorey Classified His Work as Literary Nonsense, and in Respone to being called Gothic Gorey Replied “If you’re doing nonsense it has to be rather awful, because there’d be no point. I’m trying to think if there’s sunny nonsense. Sunny, funny nonsense for children—oh, how boring, boring, boring. As Schubert said, there is no happy music. And that’s true, there really isn’t. And there’s probably no happy nonsense, either.”
It is What it Is,
Presented by Les Sober