Sgt. N. ("Jim") Smithe-Magee
My blogs
| Occupation | author/illustrator, ret'd; sometime jazz pianist |
|---|---|
| Location | Silver Spring, MD, United States |
| Introduction | Sgt. N. ("Jim") Smithe-Magee (the N stands for 'Nonsense') is one of several noms-de-charade employed by this versifier/illustrator and occasional solo jazz pianist. Long appreciation of the literary output of Lear, Gorey, Carroll, the Oulipo's Perec and others prompts "The Sarge" to compose and illustrate his own -- though his inventions can be seen to be stylistically and qualitatively dissimilar to those of his mentors. Attention to meter and rhyme always trump semantics. Meaning...? The issue remains unresolved. |
| Interests | Anagrams, meter, Oulipo, rhyme, cryptic crosswords, grandchildren (mine), nonsense lit, craft-brewed beer, illustrated alphabets, Lear, antiquarian lore, folk art, 9th-century European culture, sequential art, vintage and contemporary jazz... |
| Favorite movies | Enter Laughing, The Singing Detective (The Potter original), Children of Paradise, and anything featuring Jean Arthur or Melvin Douglas. |
| Favorite music | Ravel, Vaughn Williams, Sondheim, Frankish chant, Bulgarian a capella singing, vintage and contemporary jazz... |
| Favorite books | The Western Canon, Life a User's Manual, the Bible (as literature, not revelation) Tintin, Little Nemo, the work of Muriel Spark, Saul Bellow, Roddy Doyle, Alan Bennett, Margaret Atwood, Dorothy Parker, and of course anything by Lear, Carroll, Gorey, the Oulipo... |
If you were a cannibal, what would you wear to dinner?
Now you're simply talking nonsense.