There are lots of writers of light verse whose works I go back to over and over because I find it so delightful. I re-read Dorothy Parker, Wendy Cope, Gail White, Julie Kane, Melissa Balmain, Sophie Hannah, J. V. Cunningham, W. S. Gilbert, Ed Shacklee, and quite a few others. On the other hand, there are many different kinds of light verse, and I am not equally amused by all of them. My own tastes lean toward the witty and satirical, so that kind of verse is the kind I read most often. I will admit that I don't like equally everything the above-mentioned writers have written, but the things I like most I tend to like more than my own work, so I go back to them to remind myself of what the best light verse looks like and just to give myself a laugh. Light verse is a form of self-medication. It always makes me feel better afterwards.
Susan
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