Difference between revisions of "Widowers"
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− | '''Widowers''' is a fictional [[Manchester]], [[UK]], department store created by [[Eric Needham]], for which rhyming advertising jingles became a [[fannish]] fad after the first of them appeared in the second [[ish]] of Needham and [[Harry Turner]]’s [[OMPA]]zine, ''[[Now & Then]]'' ([ | + | '''Widowers''' is a fictional [[Manchester]], [[UK]], department store created by [[Eric Needham]], for which rhyming advertising jingles became a [[fannish]] fad after the first of them appeared in the second [[ish]] of Needham and [[Harry Turner]]’s [[OMPA]]zine, ''[[Now & Then]]'' ([https://www.htspweb.co.uk/fandf/romart/het/fanzines/nt02.htm November 1954]). An example by Needham: |
Judas hung himself from a bough | Judas hung himself from a bough | ||
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The best of these four-line [[poetry|verses]] have a completely absurd counterpoint between the first couplet and the product promoted in the last; a rhyme scheme of ''abccb'', with an internal rhyme in the third line; and, ideally, do not rely on a preposition to begin the final line. | The best of these four-line [[poetry|verses]] have a completely absurd counterpoint between the first couplet and the product promoted in the last; a rhyme scheme of ''abccb'', with an internal rhyme in the third line; and, ideally, do not rely on a preposition to begin the final line. | ||
− | In the 1980s, [[Harry Turner]] [ | + | In the 1980s, [[Harry Turner]] [https://www.htspweb.co.uk/fandf/romart/het/footnotes/widowers.htm recalled]: <blockquote>[[File:Widower.jpeg|frameless|left]] WIDOWER'S WONDERFUL PRODUCTS appeared in the mag early on. [[Eric Needham]], my co-producer, did some bulk-buying to economise on his house-keeping, and confessed he was getting fed up with a steady diet of Batchelor's Baked Beans. After a discussion on the techniques of persuasion, Eric tried his hand at some advertising jingles for the products from an imaginary company — Widower's. I used the results as [[fillers]] in ''[[N&T]]'', and we found readers joining in with new jingles. There was a time when we had so many jingles on our hands that we had plans to produce a WIDOWER'S CATALOGUE...<br>And in the [https://www.htspweb.co.uk/fandf/romart/het/fanzines/nt03.htm third issue] of ''[[N&T]]'', Eric came up with the strange story of WIDOWER'S WART REMOVER. </blockquote> |
The Widowers trend has periodically seen a revival, notably in the 1970s and ’80s, and in 2000, after [[Leah Zeldes Smith]] wrote a number of them as [[fillers]] for ''[[STET]]'' 9, including: | The Widowers trend has periodically seen a revival, notably in the 1970s and ’80s, and in 2000, after [[Leah Zeldes Smith]] wrote a number of them as [[fillers]] for ''[[STET]]'' 9, including: | ||
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'''More reading:''' | '''More reading:''' | ||
− | * [ | + | * [https://www.htspweb.co.uk/fandf/romart/het/footnotes/widowers0.htm Words on Widowers’ Prequel] |
− | * [ | + | * [https://www.htspweb.co.uk/fandf/romart/het/footnotes/widowers.htm Words on Widower’s] |
− | * [ | + | * [https://www.htspweb.co.uk/fandf/romart/het/footnotes/widowers2.htm More Widowers verses] |
See also [[Daffy Poetics]], [[Poetry]], [[Rich Lynch]]. | See also [[Daffy Poetics]], [[Poetry]], [[Rich Lynch]]. |
Revision as of 09:26, 29 November 2022
Widowers is a fictional Manchester, UK, department store created by Eric Needham, for which rhyming advertising jingles became a fannish fad after the first of them appeared in the second ish of Needham and Harry Turner’s OMPAzine, Now & Then (November 1954). An example by Needham:
Judas hung himself from a bough A curious use for trees... What use to perish, no more to cherish WIDOWERS WONDERFUL PEAS?
The best of these four-line verses have a completely absurd counterpoint between the first couplet and the product promoted in the last; a rhyme scheme of abccb, with an internal rhyme in the third line; and, ideally, do not rely on a preposition to begin the final line.
In the 1980s, Harry Turner recalled:
WIDOWER'S WONDERFUL PRODUCTS appeared in the mag early on. Eric Needham, my co-producer, did some bulk-buying to economise on his house-keeping, and confessed he was getting fed up with a steady diet of Batchelor's Baked Beans. After a discussion on the techniques of persuasion, Eric tried his hand at some advertising jingles for the products from an imaginary company — Widower's. I used the results as fillers in N&T, and we found readers joining in with new jingles. There was a time when we had so many jingles on our hands that we had plans to produce a WIDOWER'S CATALOGUE...
And in the third issue of N&T, Eric came up with the strange story of WIDOWER'S WART REMOVER.
The Widowers trend has periodically seen a revival, notably in the 1970s and ’80s, and in 2000, after Leah Zeldes Smith wrote a number of them as fillers for STET 9, including:
Socrates, so wise, drank hemlock And that was the end of him So much for high thinking, you’re better off drinking WIDOWERS LONDON DRY GIN
More reading:
See also Daffy Poetics, Poetry, Rich Lynch.
Fanspeak | 1954— |
This is a fanspeak page. Please extend it by adding information about when and by whom it was coined, whether it’s still in use, etc. |