Opening
Bibliographic Information:
Dark
and Stormy Rides Again: The Best (?) from the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest /
(compiled) by Scott Rice
ISBN-13: 978-0140254907/ Publisher / Penguin
(Non-Classics)
122 p. / $8.95 (Half.com)
1996
Body of Content
Summary: The
creative writing contest is an annual competition, but only a handful of (annual)
compilation works appear in print. This
volume received publication in 1996 and represents the fifth inclusion to the
print canon (Amazon, 2011). The premise
of the contest revolves around writers attempting to write (on purpose) the
worst opening sentence to an imaginary novel.
The book is broken into a variety of sub-categories – with dozens of “winners”
included in each category. The sentences
vary in length – some of which look more like an opening paragraph. The aforementioned categories include the
labels “Purple Prose” (intended elegance) – “Fabio Had Everything Marissa Had
Ever Dreamed of in a Man” (romance) – and “As Warp Speed Rattled the Bridge”
(science fiction) (Rice, 1996). The book
makes fun of the British author Bulwer-Lytton, noting that he contained “that rare
genius who could extrude instant clichés – expressions immediately stale (Rice,
1996, p. 1).
Critique: The book
contains one of the cleverest premises for a comedy work – as intended
horribleness is the goal. Many of the
sentences are phenomenal – proving that it takes skill to write such poor
literary efforts.
For instance, the following entry flowed from the James
Thielman,
“As Sonia entered the
ballroom, her despair cascaded to the parquet like ionized salts in a faulty centrifuge,
to steal from Tolstoy” (Rice, 1996, p. 9).
Like many attempts at poor beginnings, this example holds
two central characteristics, 1) wild similes (“ … like ionized salts …”), along
with 2) random inclusions of literary or historical allusions (“Tolstoy”) that
are off-topic within the framework of the sentence.
Many of the entries also have love and relationships as a
backdrop, including the following entry from Mike Valcho:
“Allan, who throughout most of
his forty years read only children’s stories, found that Mother Goose did not
prepare him for his night with Helen who was illiterate, but worldly.” (Rice,
1996, p. 68)
Again, the random craft – of finding a manner to stitch a nursery
rhyme author with a person’s casual first date – shows the type of humor offered
by the compilation book – often unexpected in content, often humorous in affect.
Given the literary nature of the book – as it uses,
understands, and re-deploys key literary devices and vocabulary – the book
could easily supplement a high-school level English class – as the teacher
could ask students to find the example of “simile” within the entry – and offer
students a chance to write their own version of a simile. Overall, the book is
a gem.
Teaser: “Want to read ‘the best’ of ‘the worst’ literature ever
written? Enjoy a contest like none
other!”
Information about the Author: Scott
Rice serves as editor for this compilation work. Rice is a professor at San Jose State
University – within the English department.
He teaches a multitude of courses – including courses on Satire, Freshman
Composition, and Children’s Literature.
The professor holds a terminal degree in his field from the University
of Arizona (SJSU, 2011).
Scott started the contest in 1982, and it has since
continued as an annual contest. The
inspired title leads allusion to Edward George Bulwer-Lytton – who wrote the
eternal words “It was a dark and stormy night …” – as the beginning to his
novel Paul Clifford (Rice, 2011). The contest deadline is flexible – but it officially
(and probably purposefully) coincides with April 15th – tax day for
Americans (Rice, 2011).
Supplemental Material
Genre: Humor
Curriculum Ties: English – composition,
literature theory, genre, contest
Booktalking Ideas: 1) If
you were to sit down and write the worst opening to a novel that you could
imagine of – how would it compare to these entries? 2) What is the backdrop for
the contest – why do the individual authors lampoon the allusions to the author
Edward George Bulwer-Lytton.
Reading Level: A person must know the English
rules to break the rules of English language – and as such, the older high
school students could very well read this as a supplemental textbook in an
English literature class. Best for ages 16-19.
Challenge Issues and Defense: The subject matter contains
some sexual innuendos and some language.
The purpose of the content defuses the situation – somewhat. The language and content is still within the
confines of PG-13 and it should not have any problem residing in a high school
library or a public library YA department.
Personal Reasons for Inclusion: This is
an absolutely humorous book – most entries produce at least a smile – several
entries could function as a weight-loss, comical-inspired diet. This is a
must-read for any high school student who dreams of one day majoring in English
literature.
Last Thoughts
References:
Amazon.
(2011). Dark and Stormy Rides Again [Webpage].
Retrieved from
http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Stormy-Rides-Again-
Bulwer-Lytton/dp/0140254900/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322544099&sr=8-1
Rice, Scott.
(2011). The Bulwer-Lytton fiction contest [Webpage]. Retrieved from
http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/
San Jose
State University. (2011). English department faculty [Webpage]. Retrieved from
http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/scott.rice/faculty_Full.htm
Listening to (Music):
Artist – Remedy Drive / Album – “Daylight is Coming”
