New Statesman Competitions and satirical poems: a history

"December 28, 2012 by billgreenwell There is something about these competitions and their predecessors (see Origins) that makes men and women alike reach for a nom-de-plume. In the thirties, there were more entrants with sobriquets than there are now, and probably the characters hiding behind the droll or Latin or simply initialised signatures (one of the winners was 'S.') saw it as part of the sporting anonymity of the entries." Text image of Joyce Johnson's letter, transcript: Dear Bill, I enjoyed your letter very much. So you're Ellen Brigwell, I thought she seemed horribly good, blast her, elbowing my Miltonic Walrus and the Carpenter, of which I was inordinately proud. Will Bellenger too, I ought to OF twigged, but didn't. Martin Fagg's pseudonyms are: [2 cols - col 1] Molly Fitton Ian Kelso Andrew McEvey Tim O'Dowda Rufus Stone Kit Carpenter [col 2] Robin Ravensbourne Terry Towling Simon Littimer Colin Kimberley [/2 columns] and Jonathan Fernside. He too says the NS occasionally invent new ones and slap them on his entries. No, Gerry Hamill is real, I met him at a party.

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"In this blog, I'll explain what I'm doing, where I've got to, and any news of progress or otherwise I have to impart. This is the section to which I hope you'll respond with advice and assistance. In particular, I could do with some help with pseudonyms … If you or a member of previous generations are or were competition entrants, I'd be glad to hear from you. I would be interested in photographs and biographies - the idea is that the wrangling that goes on in the blog will eventually be set in shale in the relevant pages. If you have suggestions for further sections of the web-site, they'll also be welcome. When you first look at the web-site, there won't be much on it. Watch the space … One new feature contains extracts from The Saturday Review before and after Gerald Barry left it to found The Week-end Review. You can find them under Origins or here."

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