Another DH Lawrence contender.
The literary section of the Guardian had done it again. Perhaps as a companion to their Bad Sex Award, there’s a new contest—for the most unintentionally hilarious title. Inadvertently lewd? Snigger-worthy? Send in your candidates for The Wankh Award!
The name of the award itself has a noble history:
The Wankh awards shall be named in honour of that classic of science-fiction, Jack Vance’s Servants of the Wankh. The 1969 novel, the second in Vance’s Tschai quartet, has had to battle a barrage of titters over the past half-century, thanks to its title.
The article offers up some candidates:
One of the books that always makes any list like this is Geoffrey Prout’s Scouts in Bondage from 1930. Prout was obviously ahead of his time and had one eye on a Wankh award, because he was also the author of Trawler Boy Dick. From the same period, The Lady Loses Her Hoop (subtitled A Gay Little Comedy in One Act) makes me laugh, though I’m not quite sure why. Furthermore it brings us neatly to 1902′s Grimm Tales Made Gay and, for those who like their innuendo with an even blunter edge, Shag: The Story of a Dog.
I instantly remembered DH Lawrence’s short novel The Escaped Cock, which had me and my fellow English majors snickering in Early 20th Century Lit class (the title was later changed, for obvious reasons). Also, the 12th century poem “I have a gentle cock“, which we absolutely LOVED in Medieval Lit. What can I say? Cocks crack me up. Yes, I’m 12 years old.
Are there any unintentionally hilarious titles you’d give the Wankh Award to? Snicker-inducing song titles, play titles, newspaper/magazine headlines also welcome.
When I was young, my parents owned a video copy of the movie Of Human Bondage . Not so much *snicker* as *confused grossness*, even if it is Somerset Maugham.
I realise not entirely literary, but I did have a giggle at Nietsche’s book, when translated to English was called, “The Gay Science”..
Robert Frost’s poem “Neither Out Far Nor In Deep.”
These all seem to be penis-related. Huh.
I had a good friend in high school who between her mother, sister and her had the hugest most random music collection. Anyway on some sort of compendium of songs from the 1930s or something was a song sung by a young Bing Crosby entitled, Gay Love. He really lets lose in the chorus, all, “GAAAAAAAAYYYYYY love!”
It always made us laugh, I’m sure I still have it on some mix-tape somewhere.
@bluebears: That’s priceless! Every DJ playing a gay wedding needs that one.
Strictly speaking it’s not the Guardian’s bad sex award but lit mag, the Literary Review’s – it was created by Auberon Waugh when he edited the Review.(She said super pedantically because of a belief in sticking up for small lit publications everywhere).
Sadly I then tried to make this more relevant by thinking about a bad title but my mind went blank (probably in punishment of pedantry).
Horatio Alger’s “Ragged Dick” always made me giggle.
For what it’s worth, I’m pretty sure that “A Gentil Cock” is deliberate innuendo.
The last line is
“and every night he percheth him / in my lady`s chamber”
It’s a euphemism with a very long history.
@Imogen: No doubt. It’s blatant double-entendre, which is why we found it so funny—and why we always had a good laugh at the few students who were like “No! He’s just talking about a rooster, not about morning wood and jizz!”
I’ve been trying to come up with one for HOURS now, but duh! A friend of mine (who still reads, I think, eh, procrastination?) and/or her husband found a children’s book at a library purge or something that was called “The Flintstones: Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm and the Witch Who Ran Out of Jizzle.”
SRSLY.