This is a companion piece to my recent essay, A Literary Citizen. Best if hummed to the tune of “A Modern Major General” by Gilbert and Sullivan.
I read at least a book a month
And go to bookclub without fail,
Discussing all the ins and outs,
The themes and tropes of every tale,
I read the local authors
And review them without pity, and
I am the very model
Of a Literary Citizen.
I have a group I go to every week
And bring my thousand words.
We go around the table, sharing fables,
Some are quite absurd,
We giggle and we drink and then
We share a kind critique again.
I am the very model
Of a Literary Citizen.
I blog about the reading I
Attended just the other day.
I share a post on social and
Promote their latest giveaway.
I link back to their Amazon–
I’d never cast aspersions on–
I am the very model
Of a Literary Citizen.
And when I hear a conference will come,
I buy a dozen tix.
I sign right up to volunteer,
Though it’s like eating Wheat-A-Bix.
Attending readings by the ton,
And buying books from everyone,
I am the very model
Of a Literary Citizen.
And should I never publish,
Should I never see the light of day
Upon my writing, still, I wouldn’t
Have it any other way.
No one may see me in my den,
Or read what flows forth from my pen,
But I’m the very model
Of a Literary Citizen.
Copyright Andrea LeDew 2023
For another less than funny song parody about gun violence, read and hum Unpreventable Still.
Congrats on the recent acceptance for publication of one of your poems. Which one was it?
It was the poem August about the state of a Florida garden during the hottest month of the year. I have taken it down for now. Thanks Margrit!
I hear that song in my head, Andrea. Well done—and never give up. Your day in the sun will come.
Thanks Margrit. The melodrama in the last paragraph was for effect–I imagine some guy with a big nineteenth-century mustache and sideburns tearfully singing it at a much slower rate to prove his selfless devotion to the cause. For myself, I’m a bit more hopeful and somewhat less devoted. ☺️