Category: parodies

MIND YOUR MANNERS

Pierre Louÿs wrote this scandalous and salacious satirical work in 1917, yet it wasn’t published until 1926, after his death. Originally titled Manuel de civilité pour les petites filles à l’usage des maisons d’éducation, it was the author’s first published erotic work—issued anonymously in Paris, with no date nor publisher’s imprint.

A Handbook of Manners for the Good Girls of France parodies the educational handbooks of the day, as well as popular guides to etiquette. But unlike the author’s elegantly sensual ouvre, including Les Chansons de Bilitis and Aphrodite: mœurs antiques, this is Louÿs’ most radical and subversive book — aimed directly at middle-class puritanism, mocking the hypocrisy and complacency of the Belle Époque. It attacks religion and social norms with equal vigor— a sharp slap in the face of censors and prudes.

It’s also very funny.

A HANDBOOK OF MANNERS FOR THE GOOD GIRLS OF FRANCE
Pierre Louÿs
Translated from the French by Lono Taggers
Paperback; 70 pp., illustrated; $12
Pocket Erotica #23 / New Urge
ISBN 13 978-1-7379430-6-8

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pierre Louÿs, poet and novelist, was born in Belgium but spent his life in France. He is best known for his erotic works, many with sapphic and classical themes. His most popular titles include Aphrodite: mœurs antiques; Trois Filles de leur mère; Le Trophée de vulves légendaires; Poésies érotiques; La Femme et le pantin; and Les Chansons de Bilitis. His contributions to French erotic literature remain unequaled.

UFOs (Unidentified Flying Odes)

John Pitaro has written an illuminating review of our SELECTED POEMS OF EDWARD D. WOOD, JR.
(Absurdist Texts & Documents #26).

It appears in the current issue of SENSITIVE SKIN magazine.

Here’s a snippet:

“Within this mix of emotional upheaval and splintered symbolism, Wood closes the chapbook with a particularly notable piece, one indicating his inclusion in both the literary underground and the LGBTQ community as well as the sorrowful reality of unsuccessful arts careers. It is dubbed “Howl” (page 25) and opens with a sharp, satiric awareness of Ginsberg:

I saw the best flicks of my generation destroyed/by critics/ranting hysterical mutants/
Dragging directors in drag through the mud like/blood-thirsty bullies

Here, Wood deems himself “the angel-headed genius in the orange neon dusk of Hollywood”, and observes his audience both laughing at and cheering him in the cinema before

They staggered off into the sunset strip/
Leapt off the Hollywood sign into the bliss of the curvaceous cult-womb/
That wrapped them forever in its loin-lit angoric embrace “

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL REVIEW

CLICK HERE to buy the book and weep with laughter. Inspired satire, guaranteed.


Journey to Parts Unknown

“…her valleys are like Eden, her hills like Lebanon, her springs as Pisgah, and her rivers as Jordan; that she is a paradise of pleasure and garden of delight.”

This satirical travelogue was first published in England 1740. With Swiftian wit, it describes the female sexual anatomy as a metaphor of geography and natural history. This lovely guidebook is a must-have for the armchair adventurer, as well as timid explorers who dream of female parts unknown. Students of natural history and budding geographers will discover many hidden delights within these pages.

***This edition also includes a never-before-published map of the country***

“The Arabian Geographical Lexicographer cited by Schultens in his book observes that the exact limits of the  vast country of Merryland are en­tirely unknown, the greatest traveller never having been able to discover its utmost bounds; and whoever attempts such a discov­ery, may properly be said to grope in the dark.”

Collectors of RARE curiosa and exotic erotica rejoice! — your destination has arrived!

“…a masterpiece of wit and humour!”

TRAVELS TO MERRYLAND
Containing a Topographical, Geographical & Natural History of that Country
by Roger Pheuquewell, Esq.
Pocket Erotica  [№ 10 ]
76 pp., paper; illustrated; $10
ISBN: 978-1-7357646-4-1

RAP SHEET Raves!

MISSING MYSTERIES: A PICTORIAL HISTORY OF NONEXISTENT MYSTERIES by Derek Pell has just been reviewed by the influential RAP SHEET blog.

rapsheet

Classics Both “Lost” and Reinterpreted

Several times over the past few years, I’ve mentioned that Northern California artist, photographer, and author Derek Pell was creating a pictorial collection of 100 “missing mysteries,” mischievous covers he created for whodunit and thriller novels that never actually existed…   CLICK HERE TO READ THE COMPLETE REVIEW

The Game is Afoot!

“Pell’s satire doesn’t lack for sharp edges. His twisted humor is sure to appeal to crime-fiction lovers.” —THE RAP SHEET

Black Scat proudly presents Derek Pell’s  MISSING MYSTERIES — the most baffling and hilarious reference book ever published. This  special collector’s edition features a complete history of nonexistent mysteries (1840 – 2015) in one deluxe, large format paperback.

Packed with pulp, crimes, dicks, dames, thugs, puns, gumshoes and stoolies. Loaded with laughs, maps, gaffs, noir, conundrums, puzzles & quizzes. 196 pages crammed with over 100 full-color cover reproductions, plus startling excerpts, scathing reviews, outlandish blurbs and mysterious synopses.

PROMO-FINAL
[click on cover for larger view]

In the words of Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Lawrence Block: “Derek Pell is quite mad, in rather a brilliant way.”

Novelist Robert Coover has called Pell “…a wordplay master and a parodist of great wit and cunning,”  and MISSING MYSTERIES offers further evidence.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER DIRECT FROM OUR PRINTER  / CLICK HERE TO ORDER ON AMAZON