Mots d'Heures: Gousses, Rames

(September 1997) Whoops. This page has been empty for about two years because I just forgot about it. Various people have written to me to point this out to me, so here is a page about this wondrous book.

Anyway, "Mots d'Heures: Gousses, Rames" by Louis d'Antin van Rooten, purports to be a book of French poetry but is actually a collection of Nursery rhymes transcribed into pseudo-French. For example:

Chacun Gille
Houer ne taupe de hile
Tôt-fait, j'appelle au boiteur
Chaque fêle dans un broc, est-ce crosne?
Un Gille qu'aime tant berline à fêtard.
is "Jack and Jill".

The book then tries to explain the meaning of these "poems". It's very entertaining.

ghira@mistral.co.uk