This collection of alert, witty, and world-wise limericks by the great New Orleans jazz pianist and composer Tom McDermott, illustrated with his own drawings, is a snapshot of a restlessly creative mind and heart at play. These "personal nursery rhymes" demonstrate that simplicity of means need not be incompatible with sophistication of ends. In all their various modes -- the frivolously comic, the self-deprecating, the wistful, the gently mocking, the philosophical -- a very individual elegance and generosity of spirit are always to be found.
Tom McDermott is a singer, speaker, and storyteller who has performed in festivals across the country and abroad. His work has been published in Storytelling Magazine, and he has received numerous awards, including first place in storytelling at the National Irish Storytelling Contest and the John Henry Faulk Award. McDermott is also the creator of Keep the Beat, a performance-based program that teaches children rhythmic skills using everyday items. A United Methodist minister, he earned a master of divinity, with a concentration in pastoral counseling, from Brite Divinity School. McDermott lives in Fort Worth, Texas.
"These written and pencil-drawn lines are a perfect accompaniment to Tom McDermotts music because, like him, they are unstuck in time. Who writes limericks anymore? Who draws with a pencil? The same guy, apparently, whom I once heard play the middle movement of Beethovens Pathetique Sonata to a Fats Domino beat. Toms limericks and drawings are pure whimsical joy. Like his music, they remind us why our brains have evolved with a pleasure center. -- Dan Baum, author of "Nine Lives & Gun Guys"
"Tom McDermott has long thrilled New Orleanians (and people around the world) with his pianistic dexterity and compositional originality. Now hes forsaken that keyboard for another. To the question Does the world need more limericks? he answers a resounding Maybe not, but here they are! Yes, theyre witty and funny and pointed, but theyre also accompanied by Toms overdue return to the drawing board. Buy the book for the limericks, stay for the drawings. Both will make you smile. A lot." -- Harry Shearer, actor/writer, & Director of The Big Uneasy
