Vestibules to the “world of topsyturvydom” – paratexts in nonsense anthologies

Abstract

In this article we examine eighteen selected nonsense anthologies published in the UK since the 1920s, working on the assumption that they define, re-shape, and visually reinterpret the genre for a general audience in parallel to scholarly approaches to nonsense. In the first part of our paper we look at the process of anthologising and its main functions, followed by an overview of key nonsense anthologies. In the second part, we inspect peritexts that influence the reception of these collections and, by extension, the perception of literary nonsense, looking specifically at book titles, cover designs, tables of contents, prefaces, postfaces, and annexes. In doing so we hope to reveal the implied reader of the anthologies, comment on their coverage relative to the established Victorian canon and recognise the distinctive features of the genre, foregrounded by the anthologists' editorial and aesthetic choices.

Obrazy niepowagi: O tłumaczeniu poezji nonsensu na przykładzie wiersza The Akond of Swat Edwarda Leara

“…Heyman 2008), począwszy od wiejskich wyliczanek, a skończywszy na dziełach dadaistów, surrealistów czy słownych ekscesach Johna Lennona (por. Hołobut, Hołownia 2017).…”