The Great Australian Book of Limericks

Everyone knows at least one limerick. Here are all the limericks you can remember, and many you can't recall but wished you could--from childhood ones to some very adult ones. Jim Haynes has arranged more than a thousand limericks according to type--witty and whimsical, childish and charming, linguistic and logical, fair dinkum and funny, barmy and British. Australian idols and icons, place names, and prime ministers are paraded in all their historical and satirical glory. Some limericks, however witty, are joyfully risque, vulgar, or even downright crude--thoughtfully placed categories ranging from mildly impolite and immodest to those obscene and odious examples beloved of rugby clubs and teenage boys of all ages. All show that the limerick is a celebration of life, nonsense, and lusciously lecherous energy.

Jim Haynes started out teaching writing, literature, history, and drama in schools and universities from Australia to Great Britain, and is now a professional entertainer, songwriter, verse writer, and singer. He is a four time winner of the Bush Laureate Book of the Year.