Back when I was in the newspaper biz—I mean really in the newspaper biz—there wasn’t anything that would cause a would-be contributor to be more roundly laughed at than a submission of poetry. The editor would pass it around for all in the newsroom to “appreciate,” and, accompanied by a murmur of snickers, the hapless attempt would be dropped from ceremonious height into the round file. Newspaper editors hate poetry. They regard it as a waste of font. Now, as a syndicated newspaper cartoonist, I surreptitiously sneak poetry into newspapers with regularity. Reporters, you see, have a rebellious nature. I probably should not include Limericks, though. Every good newspaper person knows a few good Limericks. I can’t repeat them here.
