Celebrate Limerick Day Every May 12
On May 12 we celebrate the fun, silly (and often naughty) little rhyming verse called the Limerick. Yep, it’s Limerick Day.
This celebration happens on May 12 because that’s the birthday of author and poet Edward Lear (1812-1888).
Who’s that, you ask? Mr. Lear was a writer whose Book of Nonsense popularized Limericks.
He didn’t actually invent them; they’ve been around for some 500 years. But apparently he wrote some good ones.
For example:
There was an Old Man with a beard
Who said, “It is just as I feared! —
Two Owls and a Hen,
Four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!”
Although we know why the day was created, we don’t know who came up with it or when. But who cares? Limericks are fun!
What is a Limerick
Each kind of verse has it’s own rules. And as silly as limericks can be, they’re no exception.
And, in fact, being humorous (or silly!) is one of those rules. The others are:
- It’s 5 lines long
- The first two lines rhyme with each other and with the fifth line
- The third and fourth lines also rhyme
- Limericks are also supposed to have a certain rhythm.
So why is a Limerick called a Limerick? It’s named for the city of Limerick, Ireland (the third largest city in Ireland). Not because they were invented there. Rather, the verses became popular in taverns and pubs, and the city of Limerick had plenty of those. So eventually its name got stuck to the verse style too.
Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficial rhyming holiday.
Ideas For Celebrating Limerick Day
Clearly you’ll need to read or write some Limericks. Maybe both, if you’re up to it!
A great place to start would be with the book that started it all, Lear’s Book of Nonsense.
Find it:
- On the Edward Lear website
- Get a free copy on Project Gutenberg
- Buy it from Amazon
For more recent Limericks, try:
- There Was an Old Geezer Called Caesar: A History of the World in 100 Limericks
- The Mammoth Book of Limericks
- The Giant Book of Dirty Limericks: Over 1,000 Raunchy Rhymes
If you have kids (or grandkids), buy a book of kid’s Limericks to share with them.
- All Mixed Up: A Collection of Limericks for Kids
- Looney Limericks (Dover Children’s Activity Books)
- There Was An Old Lady from Bristol: A book of original limericks for children and adults
After reading a few, you’ll probably be ready to try writing one. Don’t worry if it’s not too great or funny. It’s sure to make you laugh as you try to write it!
Not sure how to write your own? Well, you know the rules. Now you just need some imagination (and a dirty imagination doesn’t hurt, either). For more help, check out the very detailed How to Write a Limerick, complete with examples.
So, how will you be celebrating Limerick Day?
Did you write any good (or even not so good) Limericks? Share!
[…] Limerick Day: Celebrate the birth of that great limerickist (is that a word?) Edward Lear! Recite or even write some limericks in his honor. […]
[…] Limerick Day: Recite limericks all day! Some people will love you and others will run away. Either way you’ll have fun (assuming you like limericks, anyway). You could also try your hand at writing limericks. […]