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When Edmund Clerihew Bentley was a teenager during the 1800's in Great Britain, he created
a poetic form —unbeknownst to him— which would later be called the
"Clerihew." It is a deceptively simple form Bentley devised in the idleness of
his St. John's School Chemistry class—if only all creation were that simple!  Fast-forward roughly one hundred years, and one of the leading U.S. poets,
Henry Taylor, publishes several Clerihews in the New York Times. Though not as popular as
Shakespeare's Sonnet, the Haiku, or the Villanelle made famous to the English speaking
world by Dylan Thomas; the Clerihew has garnered a good share of poetic interest inside
the writing community.
In the featured interview, I spoke with Henry Taylor about his career and his work; and in
a recent visit he made to my house, we recorded some Clerihews for this issue (available
in real audio). I found Henry to be a delightful Southern gentleman and
poet—everything from the hat he wore, to his full-bodied accent and speaking voice.
It was a great pleasure to sit down for a bit and chat about things. The interview itself
was conducted during the months of November, December '98, and January '99.
Issue Six, as you can see, has the distinction of being the first issue
designed in our new online layout. It is a foreshadowing of things to come, as we are
currently working on a new design for the entire magazine. As well, you may notice an
improved quality of sound in the audio selections.
The staff would like to thank everyone for their interest in TCR: A few words of
acknowledgement to Poets Market 1999, where a listing for The Cortland
Review appears; to Chelsea, Shenandoah, and The Academy of
American Poets who have been more than generous with
their support; and to Thea Kearney for her time and dedication.
—J.M. Spalding, February 1999
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