The poetry of Jonah Winter is fun. Whether it is the kind of fun verse that will stand the test of time and one day stimulate serious analysis and scholarly research is not to be determined at present. The initial judgement is that it is not likely Winter will go on to enjoy a legacy in which there is discovered a hidden seriousness of purpose which another proponent of fun poetry currently enjoys. But while Winter may not go on to become the 21st century equivalent of Ogden Nash is beside the point for those who are around to go on the ride as Winters sits at the controls. What matters at this moment in his career is the ability to enjoy or reject. And it would take a very hardcore critic to issue a wholesale rejection.
Take, for instance, “The Odyssey by Homer.” This is a poem written specifically for students taking English classes. Even more specific it is really going to be enjoyed most profoundly by students taking English classes who hate writing outlines. Understand that this demographic does not necessarily include those students who reading or even who hate writing papers. Take this on faith: even some of the greatest writers hate writing outlines and work best without them. One might well assume, in fact, that Winter is such a writer. Here is half the poem and from this half, one can make a fairly educated guess as to what the first half might look like:
II.
Places they went:
Circe,
The Dog.
III.
Storms:
The poem is funny as a result of familiarity. Anyone ever put through the torture of being assigned to write an outline of a story or an outline for a paper instantly find the humor. It cuts deeper, of course, but the humor here—like so much comedy—is based on pain. Not physical pain, of course, but that emotional gut punch that comes with the assignment to craft an outline. And this seems to be a recurring theme of the poet. He writes funny stuff that appears to be borne of unfunny circumstances. “Sphincter Mouth (Sphinctoralipuss)” begins with a definition of the titular creature: “An especially odious and slimy biped, most often found in academic communities.” It is a poem that appears to be a response to someone who has firsthand experience with such an unwholesome creature spawned the internal politics of the scholarly community. Not many people would be moved to target such an individual for such venomous satire who have not themselves been subject to the undesirable attributes which the rest of the builds upon.
It has been said that dying is easy, comedy is hard. Even harder than pulling off humor, however, is making it seem so effortless. And at least in that respect, Jonah Winter’s legacy seems assured. He almost makes writing comic verse seem so easy that anyone could do it. Of course, that’s a misguided way of thinking quickly quashed through with experience.
