Publisher's Synopsis
Jonathan Caws-Elwitt has been taxing the prose-humor form since childhood, when he sold material to ZOOM and livened up the desk clutter of his teachers with madcap juvenilia. Custom Made, Adult Size is a thoughtfully selected representation of humorous essays, stories, one-act plays, and other brief works from Caws-Elwitt's adult life, including his articles for Verbatim: The Language Quarterly. From the spurious linguistic scholarship of "By Way of Middlebrow English," to the genre-spoofing farce of "Seventies Sex Comedy," to the gentle wit and whimsy of narratives like "All Wound Up with Sippy" and the miscellaneous tomfoolery of assorted satirical letters, columns, and reference guides, these disparate pieces are unified by the author's sensibility and voice. In fabricated etymologies, fictitious film reviews, imaginary memoirs, and uncategorizable absurdities, Custom Made, Adult Size presents an accomplished writer who is very serious about being silly, and whose love of language and fascination for the ridiculous are hopelessly entwined.
