The word blurb had its origin in the exploitation of this book 194. Blurbs were originally printed on the back or rear dustjacket of a book, and are now found on web portals and news websites. Definition of blurb from the collins english dictionary. From 1906 to 19, american humorist gelett burgess 18661951 published annual editions of his book are you a bromide. The noun blurb denotes a brief descriptive paragraph or note of the contents or character of a book, printed as a commendatory advertisement, on the jacket or wrapper of a newly published book. Blurb project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks read. Jan 01, 2007 frank gelett burgess january 30, 1866 september 18, 1951 was an artist, art critic, poet, author, and humorist.
The cover left and title page right were frequently dustjacketed with blinda blurb, a buxom cartoon drawn by burgess to illustrate a blurb. Genealogy profile for gelett burgess frank gelett burgess 1866 1951 genealogy genealogy for frank gelett burgess 1866 1951 family tree on geni, with over 190 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. Blurb definition and meaning collins english dictionary. The american humorist gelett burgess was born on this day in 1866. The american illustrator and humorist gelett burgess. Runaway smile wins the gelett burgess childrens book award. Frank gelett burgess january 30, 1866 september 18, 1951 was an artist, art critic, poet. Originally mocking excessive praise printed on book jackets, and. Blurb came from bromide actually, from burgess 1906 book are you a bromide. Among the definitions in his dictionary burgess unabridged 1914 is blurb, a word burgess had coined eight years earlier to advertise another of his books featuring another of his famous coinages, bromide. While they dont sell books, they do a lot for an author, particularly one who is leaning out of the boat, doing brave work. Probably best known were his series of books about goops badmannered children, including goops and how to be them 1900. The project gutenberg ebook of goops and how to be them. Blurb definition is a short publicity notice as on a book jacket.
Blurbed definition of blurbed by the free dictionary. Gelett burgess 18661951 published annual editions of his book are you a bromide. Gelett burgess, american humorist and illustrator, best known for a single, early, whimsical quatrain. The cover left and title page right were frequently dustjacketed with blinda blurb, a buxom cartoon drawn by burgess to illustrate a blurb, the word he coined to mean an excessive laudatory testimonial that a publisher added to dustjackets to sell more books. The blurb about a new book, film, or exhibition is information about it that is written. The word blurb was invented by burgess in 1917 when he humorously inscribed a book to miss belinda blurb. Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples log in dictionary. If you think your books meets this set of criteria, submit your book for the gelett burgess childrens book award. Information and translations of blurb in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. The term blurb was coined by gelett burgess, the same guy who wrote the purple cow poem, so im in his debt. We associate the word blurb, a short description of a product written for promotional purposes, most closely with books, which is only fair, since it was invented for a meeting of the american booksellers association in 1907. Book printed material jacket of are you a bromide by gelett burgess. Its a blurb now to puff new book gelett burgess coins odd term for the booksellers annual dinner.
He is credited with coining the word blurb, a short promotional statement about a piece of creative work, and bromide, a trite or unoriginal phrase intended to soothe or placate, or the boring person who utters those. It may be written by the author or publisher or quote praise from others. A blurb is a short promotional piece accompanying a piece of creative work. Dec 23, 2015 the gelett burgess childrens book award. Between 1891 and 1894 he taught topographical drawing at the university of california. Gelett burgess, american humorist and illustrator, best known for a single.
Nov 20, 2014 as wikipedia reminds us a blurb is a short summary or promotional piece accompanying a creative work. An important figure in the san francisco bay area literary renaissance of the 1890s, particularly through his iconoclastic little magazine, the lark, he is best known as a writer of nonsense verse, such as the purple cow. To celebrate, merriamwebster published a fun history of the word blurb on its website, which you should read. Burgess was educated as an engineer and worked briefly for a railroad in that capacity. Gelett burgess 18661951 coined both blurb and tintiddle, though blurb is sometimes attributed to brander matthews.
Gelett burgess author of goops and how to be them goodreads. As wikipedia reminds us a blurb is a short summary or promotional piece accompanying a creative work. Blurb was coined by the american humorist gelett burgess in 1907. Books by gelett burgess author of goops and how to be them. Gelett burgess coins odd term for the booksellers annual dinner. I wont steal mws thunder, but it seems the word was coined by the humorist gelett burgess. Gelett burgess poems by the famous poet all poetry. The noun blurb was coined in 1907 by gelett burgess. By his seriocomic act at the dinner party, gelett burgess helped set a standard in the book industry.
Sarah menkedick, longreads, the first book, 24 july 2019 mckintys novel, which has just been published and was already in s top 100, arrived with blurbs from stephen king, dennis lehane. It was coined by american humorist gelett burgess, as attested by american scholar brander matthews in a september 24, 1922, new york times article about blurbs. Wickes calls for might in words, mirth in treatment, and. He is credited with coining the word blurb, a short promotional statement about.
Burgess humour was based upon the sudden break of ideas. But the word blurb came about in 1907 with the publication of a book by humorist, nonsense verse writer, and san francisco bohemian gelett burgess. Frank gelett burgess the artist, author, and humorist whos credited with coining blurb wrote a short book titled are you a bromide. The design of the gelett burgess childrens book award is based on this monogram though much of burgess work has been overlooked in recent years, many of his lasting contributions often go. Gelett burgess invented more new words than anybody else at that period, which he incorporated into several books. Gelett burgess, famous for his purple cow poem, is also the creator of those vulgar and unmannered goops. Blurb definition, a brief advertisement or announcement, especially a laudatory one. Today, burgesss quirky fame rests on the word blurb which he coined and on a nonsense verse about a purple cow which he crafted.
I have not been able to find a citation for the above quotation. The word blurb was coined in 1907 by american humorist gelett burgess 18661951. The word was created by the humorist gelett burgess, and it came in the company of another lexical invention of his. If you think your books meets this set of criteria, submit your book for the gelett burgess childrens book. Goops and how to be them is a spoonful of sugar that gets the medicine of good manners down in a most delightful way. Last week marked the 140th birthday of the humorist gelett burgess, who left a lexical legacy by adding the words blurb and bromide to the english language. On the back of its dust jacket the book featured a picture of a young, fictional woman miss belinda blurb, in the act of blurbing yes, this is a blurb. An important figure in the san francisco bay area literary renaissance of the 1890s, particularly through his iconoclastic little magazine, the lark, he is best known as a writer of nonsense verse, such as the purple cow, and for introducing french modern art to the united states in an essay titled the wild men of. He was born in boston, and graduated from the massachusetts institute of technology with a b.
The curious history of book blurbs and why theyre still around those snippets of praise on book covers have been around for over 150 years at least. The booksellers and publishers clearly found the word an excellent one for the puffing encomiums on the dustjackets of books and by about 1914 it had become the standard term for them. Burgess wrote and illustrated several childrens books about the habits of strange, baldheaded, idiosyncratic childlike creatures he called the goops. Gelett burgess gelett burgess biography poem hunter. An important figure in the san francisco bay area literary renaissance of the 1890s, particularly through his iconoclastic little magazine, the lark, he is best known as a writer of nonsense verse, such as the purple cow, and for introducing french modern art to the united states in an essay titled the wild men of paris. The word blurb, by the way, was invented by burgess in 1907, when he attributed the effusively complimentary jacket copy of one of his books to a miss belinda blurb.
The gelett burgess center advisory council members want to know a book will make an impact in a childs life by helping them grow. At the annual trade association dinner that year the publisher distributed some five hundred copies of the book. The club was the first of its kind west of the mississippi river. Of blurbs and bromidesgelett burgess asks, are you a.
Gelett burgess coined two imperishable words, bromide and blurb. An important figure in the san francisco bay area literary renaissance of the 1890s, particularly through his iconoclastic little magazine, the lark, he is best known as a writer of nonsense verse. For the jacket of a special edition of his book, burgess. The word was allegedly invented by american humorist gelett burgess who devised a young lady named belinda blurb pictured here on the back of the jacket of his book. He was the author of the popular goops books, and he coined the term blurb. Title jacket of are you a bromide by gelett burgess. Among his bestknown works are goops and how to be them 1900 and subsequent books on goops badmannered children. Frank gelett burgess january 30, 1866 september 18, 1951 was an american poet, artist, art critic, author and humorist. Frank gelett burgess students britannica kids homework help. He was the author of the popular goops books, and he invented the blurb.
An important figure in the san francisco bay area literary renaissance of the 1890s, particularly through his iconoclastic little. He is credited with adding several words to the english language, including blurb. The gelett burgess childrens book award highlights excellence in familyfriendly books covering the broad expanse of a childs existence, helping them grow socially, emotionally, ethically, intellectually, and physically. Gelett burgess has 86 books on goodreads with 1478 ratings. Gelett burgess pennys poetry pages wiki fandom powered. Of blurbs and bromidesgelett burgess asks, are you a bromide. American humorist, author, and illustrator frank gelett burgess wrote and illustrated a number of popular books. He created the syndicated comic strip goops in 1924 and worked on it to its end in 1925. Gelett burgess 18661951 coined both blurb and tintiddle, though. This word was coined in 1907 by the american humorist and illustrator gelett burgess 18661951.
Matthews set the record straight in a 1922 article pdf in the new york times, in which he also describes the art of the blurb. Now and again in these columns, he writes, i have had occasion to employ the word blurb, a colorful and illuminating neologism which we owe to the verbal inventiveness of mr. Burgess s comic writing may be forgotten, but two of the words he coined are all too much with us bromide, for the platitudinous utterance, and blurb, the special talent of his miss blinda blurb. In the books title, from the original association with a class of. Annually, the gelett burgess childrens book award is given in his honor to the top childrens books of the year. The project gutenberg ebook of goops and how to be them, by gelett burgess this ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. March 7, 2019 was world book day in the united kingdom. Ever since then, descriptive phrases or paragraphs about literary works, intended to make people want to read them, have been called blurbs.
Before long, the effectiveness of blurbs was proven beyond a doubt. But he provided his own illustrations for his prolific comic verse and occasional essays, in a fluid, dynamic and highly. The word blurb is said to have been coined in 1907 by the humorist gelett burgess, as the oxford english dictionary says, in a comic book jacket embellished with a drawing of a. Coined by american humorist gelett burgess 18661951 on a book dust jacket at a trade association dinner in 1907. Coined by gelett burgess 18661951, american humorist. The design of the gelett burgess childrens book award is based on this monogram though much of burgess work has been overlooked in recent years, many of his lasting contributions often go uncredited. But he provided his own illustrations for his prolific comic verse and occasional essays, in a fluid, dynamic and highly continued below. Ok, yes, that word already existed its a chemical compound, medicinally used as a sedative but burgess. Any 90s kidsorry, 90s adultwill remember andrew clements frindle, the classic middle grade tale of a defiant boy who invents a word just to spite his bythe book english teacher. Frank gelett burgess january 30, 1866 september 18, 1951 was an american artist, art critic, poet, author and humourist. The usual blurb accompanying gelett burgesss name is american humorist. The publishing process remains incredibly opaque, with a quasimystical air the unicorn blurb. Gelett burgess s most popular book is goops and how to be them.
Frank gelett burgess was an artist, art critic, poet, author and humorist. The word was allegedly invented by american humorist gelett burgess who devised a young lady named belinda blurb pictured here on the back of the jacket of his book, shouting praise for it. Not paginated, but 8 pages printed on two sides, illustrated by the author with the 8th leaf. He was the author of the popular goops books, and he is generally considered to have invented the blurb.
These words have been credited to a humorist, editor, and art critic named gelett burgess. Nov 08, 20 in 1906, an american humorist by the name of gelett burgess authored the book are you a bromide. Trained as an engineer, he became a popular young adult author. The characters introduced, abstractly, in the drawings of burgess print of the lark, in the 19th century. The goops volumes, initially released from 1900 to 1950, were written by the artist, art critic, poet, writer and wisecracker frank gelett burgess.
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