I love words. I love playing with words. Some words are just fun to say. Some words have lovely meanings.
I subscribe to several word-of-the-day lists and recently this one came into my inbox:
CLERIHEW (KLER-uh-hyoo)
noun: A humorous, pseudo-biographical verse of four lines of uneven length, with the rhyming scheme AABB, and the first line containing the name of the subject.
Sometimes I share words on Facebook, and clerihew was one I just couldn’t ignore. So here was the clerihew I wrote about myself:
Author Robin Lee Hatcher
Would never have made it as a baseball catcher.
Instead she picks up her pen
And writes books to be enjoyed by women and men.
Turns out, this wasn’t my first attempt with the clerihew. While I’d forgotten, a friend reminded me (wink, wink in the direction of Kansas) that twelve years ago a bunch of writers at a retreat wrote clerihews as an icebreaker. Here is the one someone (I don’t know who) wrote about me:
Robin Lee Hatcher
No one can match her
Romance and drama, she’s number one
Don’t put the Kleenex away until you’re done!
© Marek / Dollar Photo Club
Well, I didn’t want to keep this new introduction to the word (and poetry style) to myself, so I invited some writer friends to write their own autobiographical clerihews. Here are some of the responses I got (with a link to one of their books included):
Author Deborah Raney
Is often accused of being zany.
Although the accusation isn’t formal.
In her defense, she’s never claimed to be normal.
(Home to Chicory Lane)
Kristen Heitzmann, author
Has a really delightful dauther
When she’s asked don’t you know the spelling rules?
Says yes, my dear, they’re merely tools.
(The Breath of Dawn)
An author named Louise
Whose romance stories aim to please
Reminds you that her last name is Gouge
Which happens to rhyme with Scrooge.
(Then Came Love)
Author Sandra Robbins
As a child hated scary things and goblins
Now what a fluke
They’re just what she needs for suspense in a book.
(Fugitive Trackdown)
Donita K. Paul
gives dragons a call.
They flock to her backyard
convinced she’s a bard.
(Two Renegade Realms)
An author named Linda Ford
Has written down many a word
Some are great she might think
Many others just plain stink.
(Wagon Train Reunion)
Gail Gaymer Martin writer
sells straight romance that does not delight her.
It’s romantic suspense or women’s tales
That draws her in and sets her sails.
(A Mother to Love)
Historical novelist Dorothy Love
From facts her fictional tales she wove.
Unfailingly insistent upon proper grammar
She was known to her students as “Dr. Hammer.”
(The Bracelet)
For Susan Page Davis
The temptation to misbehave is
So powerful, she’ll fight it
But in her next book she’ll write it.
(The Outlaw Takes a Bride)
Gayle Roper, author, loves writing books
and spends her time looking for hooks
that grab her busy readers’ attention
and give her characters much frustrating contention.
(A Widow’s Journey)
Julianna Deering,
As you are all fearing,
Has several good theories
For murder in series.
(Murder at the Mikado)
Lehman, Yvonne that is
claims to be a writing whiz
along with being a conference director.
If disbelief, read or attend and inspect ‘er.
(Crashing into Love)
Author Kim Vogel Sawyer
Never aspired to be a lawyer.
Instead, she dreamed to spend
All day with “imaginary friends.”
(When Grace Sings)
Kerry Nietz,
Has these deeds among his feats,
A software database,
And putting Amish Vampires, in Space.
(Amish Vampires in Space)
And finally, rather than write about himself, James Scott Bell wrote a clerihew about Randy Ingermanson. If you have ever seen an email from Randy, it more than likely had the word Pesky in the subject line. It’s kind of an inside joke, but it’s still cute so here goes:
Ingermanson, Randy:
With words, handy.
Except at his desky
When typing out “pesky.”
(Bell: Try Dying)
(Ingermanson: Retribution)
Okay. Now it’s your turn. Please share your autobiographical clerihew in the comments. It’s a lot of fun!
~robin
Robin Lee Hatcher
Latest posts by Robin Lee Hatcher (see all)
- Peanut Butter and . . . What? - May 2, 2025
- Walking with Jesus - April 18, 2025
- What do you call a group of writers? - April 4, 2025
Who is this Connie Saunders?
Most of you will wonder
Her love of reading
from an early age
Continues, as she devours these authors’s pages!
Connie
Great! Thanks, Connie.
Have to say these almost sound like limericks!
There once was a reader named Loraine
Who never ever thought books were a pain.
From Kindle, library and bookshelf she’d choose
And never a reading day lose!
Yes, they are a bit similar. Although I think limericks are supposed to have lines of even length/timing, where the clerihew is supposed to have uneven lines/timing. Love yours!
Wife and mother Gail Hollingsworth
Tries to fill her days with mirth
But some days are difficult and can be tough
Making having more laughter a little rough
LOL! I love it, Gail.
Nana, wife, and mom Angie Quantrell
About Jesus she does tell
To little ones and their mom and dad
To be more like Him is the goal making Jesus glad.
(I Can Be More Like Jesus)
Lovely, Angie!
Suffice to say, Rachael Koppendrayer
Is considering the profession of dragon-slayer.
Sewing and alterations won’t pay rent through the fall,*
And reading, you know, pays nothing at all.
*Thankfully there are such thing in this world as husbands, who have steadier employment. Though I think he’d wouldn’t mind joining the dragon-slaying profession himself, given the opportunity.
Oh, Rachael, I do love your clerihew!!
No contribution from Tamera Alexander
Thru Europe she doth meander
Her books are to savor
I can’t wait to read To Win Her Favor!
Oh, it was supposed to be autobiographical. LOL
Linda loves reading fiction
In fact, some might even say she has an addiction!
She’s thoughtful when penning a book’s review
Or a clerihew.
Oh, great addition, Linda. And you varied the length of the lines more than anybody else. Proud of you because that is hard to do.
Good one, Linda.
How fun! Here is mine:
Prospective author Sandy Faye Mauck
tries quite hard not to look at the clock
While her manuscript sits in the agent’s pile
she’s hoping her characters will make ’em all smile.
Good poem. And good luck!!!
Thanks Robin!
Fun post, Robin! 🙂
CatMom is my other name,
Feeding kitties is my game.
But I also love to read and write,
So books keep me up very late at night!
LOL! Good one, Patti Jo!
One of my favorite authors, Lynn Austin
Takes historical events from all over the time continuum
And adds interesting characters
With real personalities and problems
And creates a believable, suspenseful story!
Well, it isn’t a four line clerihew, but I like it anyway.
These are great! Love the creativity! Especially your asterisked ending, Rachel. LOL!
Though my name is Shirley
After raising five children some think it’s squirelly.
To make me happy give me a book
And lead me to a quiet nook.
Shirley, I love your clerihew. Thanks for sharing!