American Comic Poetry

Jeff Morgan is a professor of English at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, and the author of four books, numerous essays and poems. He lives in Boynton Beach, Florida.

“Morgan’s witty prose explores the origins of comic poetry in America. [It]intersperses history with scholarship and provides a detailed account of American comic poetry.... Morgan produces a very well-crafted and approachable analysis of American comic poetry for both comic enthusiasts and beginners”—Journal of the American Studies Association of Texas (JASAT); “Morgan successfully demonstrates how popular humor is rooted in American poetic tradition in an accessible way, proving accessibility is essential to comedy as well as any lasting art.”—Brad Johnson, The Happiness Theory; “This analysis is also historical beginning with the early Americans like Franklin, Freneau and Barlow. Using his own bits of humor, he finds in each comedy that others might overlook.”—Mike Reed, University of Texas Rio Grand Valley; “Morgan strikes an ideal balance between humorous appreciation and poetic analysis. His insights are revealing and fresh. What a pleasure to encounter these poets through Morgan’s perspective!” —Diane Allerdyce, Whatever It Is I Was Giving Up and House of Aching Beauty.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsForeword: The Best of All Medicines by Michael HettichPrefaceIntroductionThe Intellectual ApproachThe Functional ApproachThe Psychological Approach1. A Brief History of American Comic LiteratureColonial and ­Pre-Colonial American Comic LiteratureThe Revolting PeriodEarly ­Post-Colonial EraJames Russell LowellThe Flowering of the Comic VoiceEarly ­Twentieth CenturyDorothy ParkerOgden NashLate Twentieth Century2. The Long and Short of ItDenise Duhamel, Comic Prose Poetry and the ­Three-Pronged ApproachCampbell McGrath’s “Ode to Bureacrats” and the ­Three-Pronged Approach3. Billy Collins and the Intellectual Approach4. Thomas Lux and the Functional Approach5. Tony Hoagland and the Psychological ApproachConclusionBibliographyIndex