Literary riddles

[Danik 2016]

I am trying to import a game, forgive me PB, which is very popular on another forum I am on. It consists in proposing a riddle about an known author(poetry or prose writer), work or anything related to both. For example, one can ask about a known literary figure or event or have to guess the name of the author by a given biographical detail.

The challenge for the author of the riddle is to propose a riddle that is neither to difficult nor to easy for its readers.

The challenge for the readers is to ask good questions.

Winner is the one who with the definitive answer( there maybe partial solutions)

I´ll start with what I think is a very easy riddle.

I am looking for an author with a pen name derived of a nautical reference. There is also a river that is emblematic for some of his fiction.

I am looking for

[Pompey Bum]

I am trying to import a game, forgive me PB

Not at all, Danik. It smacks of fun. I can tell the answer already, though, so I'll let others guess for now. If they get stumped, I'll take my shot.

[Danik 2016]

Thanks PB. I'm sure that you know the answer.

[Danik 2016]

I forgot to say that the winner proposes the next riddle. Unfortunately it is impossible to edit the text above.

[Danik 2016]

Questions anyone?

[Pompey Bum]

Let's model this for then, Danik.

Mystery guest, did you write any novels?

(Do they have to be yes/no questions, by the way?).

[ennison]

Mark Twain?

[Pompey Bum]

Of course it's Mark Twain! :) Okay, Ennison, your turn. (See how easy that was, Danik?).

[Pompey Bum]

And he's gone. People don't even read the thread. :)

Okay, under the circumstances, in the interests of furthering Danik's game, and because I already knew the previous answer was Mark Twain ("mark twain " is a measurement on a sounding plumb), I will usurp Ennison's position as Riddler. (I'll pay him back later if he wants).

Well loved taxman of days gone past;
Play with fire and you'll get these fast.

That's the hint. Remember you don't have to know right away. You're just supposed to ask questions. For now, let's say they have to be yes/no questions.
.

[Danik 2016]

Let's model this for then, Danik.

Mystery guest, did you write any novels?

(Do they have to be yes/no questions, by the way?).

Sorry, I was away, people.

Any kind of more general questions can be asked, unless we make our own rules, which is also possible.

[Danik 2016]

Of course it's Mark Twain! :) Okay, Ennison, your turn. (See how easy that was, Danik?).

Congrats, Ennison!This first riddle was meant to be easy!

[Danik 2016]

Thanks for substituting me, PB and for furthering the game. But shouldn´t we have waited a bit more for ennison? Things go slowly on LitNet these days.

Anyway, your riddle is next.

[Pompey Bum]

Let's keep it to yes/no questions. Open-ended ones make it too easy. What books have you written? Animal Farm, 1984. See what I mean?

[Danik 2016]

OK, so it´s a rule.

[Pompey Bum]

Good, now ask me a question. :)

[Danik 2016]

No idea yet. Is the author from US?

[Danik 2016]

And he's gone. People don't even read the thread. :)

Okay, under the circumstances, in the interests of furthering Danik's game, and because I already knew the previous answer was Mark Twain ("mark twain " is a measurement on a sounding plumb), I will usurp Ennison's position as Riddler. (I'll pay him back later if he wants).

Well loved taxman of days gone past;
Play with fire and you'll get these fast.

That's the hint. Remember you don't have to know right away. You're just supposed to ask questions. For now, let's say they have to be yes/no questions.
.

My question disapeared so here is it again: Is the author from US?

[Pompey Bum]

Apparently no is too short an answer, so I will simply respond in the negative.

[Danik 2016]

Lol. Any relation to biblical times?

[Pompey Bum]

Negative.

[Danik 2016]

Mathew is still my only guess. Well, I´ll have now to be off for a while now. Hopefully some else chimes in. If not, don´t worry PB. Some of this riddles go on for days.

[Pompey Bum]

No, as I said, this is not a Biblical author (although you are right that Matthew is supposed to have been a tax collector).

Okay, come on the rest of you. This one is easy. But remember you don't need to know the answer. Just ask a (yes/no) question.

[Danik 2016]

There is this novel The Taxman Cometh, but the author is American.

So, is the author from an English speaking country?

[Pompey Bum]

Yes, they speak a sort of English there. :)

[Danik 2016]

Still no idea.Is this a poet?

[Pompey Bum]

Good question! Yes.

[Danik 2016]

I'm still in the dark but maybe one of our poet hunters can help.

[tailor STATELY]

Is it Robert Burns ?

[Pompey Bum]

Of course it's Burns. What do you think you get if you play with fire, hickies? :)

Good job, tailor. Your turn!

[Danik 2016]

Congrats, tailor! I would never have guessed it, being not familar with his poetry!

Now hoping for your riddle.

[Pompey Bum]

Yo tailor! You're up, man!

[tailor STATELY]

Thanks !

ok... give me a bit...

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

[tailor STATELY]

This druggist was no zero
convicted member of the choir

adroit at sketching on canvas and page

in a banana republic wrote
of what the walrus said

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

[Danik 2016]

A sophisticated and graceful innovation of LitNet, riddles in verses or with verses.
" The time has come,' the Walrus said,
To talk of many things:
Of shoes — and ships — and sealing-wax —
Of cabbages — and kings —
And why the sea is boiling hot —
And whether pigs have wings."

But he is not Lewis Carroll, is he?

[Pompey Bum]

So what's the answer to Danik's question, tailor? :)

[tailor STATELY]

HOT !!!... but, nay, that would have been too easy...
a riddle within the riddle; a key
within the verse you found once turned
will lead you to your literary her-o !

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

[Danik 2016]

Well, let´s sum up:
Said hero is also a painter
The country a sub-developed one
Overseas America or Africa (from an European perspective).

I pass.

[tailor STATELY]

Alas, too soon a pass
(for at worst)
perhaps the perp was abroad
from hearth and home
when penned the tome
within your verse

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

[Danik 2016]

Well, now I have to be away
But maybe PB or others,
Can make the day!

I´ll be back later.

[Pompey Bum]

John Lennon?

[tailor STATELY]

Nay, nor his brothers
Chico, Harpo, nor Gummo
O the humanity! to feel such woe
Do You Know ?
Do You Know ?
Do You Know ?... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pkaimt1xIc4

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

[Pompey Bum]

Oh well, he was a druggist in his own way, and a spokesman for the walrus. Plus they still sell those dumb cartoons of his for a lot of money. Never mind--let's take it from the top. A male?

[Pompey Bum]

Oh, wait, I've got it. O Henry, right?

[tailor STATELY]

Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding !... (William Sydney Porter actually)... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._Henry

(lol)... My next clue was to put a picture of an Oh Henry candy bar on the page

You're up PB !

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

[Pompey Bum]

Thanks, tailor. These are fun. Okay...

You'll find me full of vim and verve,
But my work strikes a less sanguine nerve.

[Danik 2016]

Congrats, tailor!

Let me ask you question one:
Are a man?

[Pompey Bum]

Um, yes, congratulations again tailor on recently posing such a fine riddle. :)

Now to the current one:

You'll find me full of vim and verve,
But my work strikes a less sanguine nerve.

Yes, a man.

[Pompey Bum]

PS The latest LitNet weirdness for me is that, even though I sign out, when I come back I am still signed in. So if you see me and ask a question, and I don't respond, I'm not ignoring you--I'm probably not really here. This too, one hopes, shall pass.

[Danik 2016]

Congrats, PB! I was in hurry last time I entered the forum, so I sort of mixed things up. In fact meant to complimenti you both,Tailor for the riddle and PB for solving it so quickly..

Well, the next question.
Are you a novel writer?

Don't worry about checking out.I sometimes actually forget to check out.

[Pompey Bum]

Yes, novels among other things.

[tailor STATELY]

I forgot to add my congratulations PB... Congratulations!

Science Fiction writer ?

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

[Pompey Bum]

No, not at all. I was just teasing Danik for what was obviously a simple name slip. :)

Not a science fiction writer.

[Danik 2016]

;)

Dear PB!I feel that I need more context on this or the general liberation. Kafka occurs me, but you obviously don´t mean Kafka.

[Pompey Bum]

No, it's not Kafka. I'll give you more hints, but you should at least have tried to determine the writer's nationality. :)

Okay..

In Alfie's realm, in Vicky's reign,
And west among the English sexes,
It's there you'll find the answer plain
To riddle mine which most perplexes.

[Danik 2016]

Lol. A Victorian then, though I have no idea where "Alfies realm" lies, but someone may.

Something to do with the poet Tennyson?

[Pompey Bum]

Lol. A Victorian then, though I have no idea where "Alfies realm" lies, but someone may.

Something to do with the poet Tennyson?

Yes, a Victorian. Alfie's realm lies west among the English sexes. If kev67 was playing he'd have it by now.

No, nothing to do with Tennyson.

[Danik 2016]

Just a guess

Thomas Hardy?

[Pompey Bum]

Of course it's Hardy. Full of vim and verve--so hardy, right? Wrote pessimistic novels about tragic characters in a failing English countryside. Revived the term Wessex (which previously referred to the ancient realm of King Alfred "Alfie" the Great) for his novels' setting.

Nice job! :)

Your turn now...

[Danik 2016]

"Revived the term Wessex (which previously referred to the ancient realm of King Alfred "Alfie" the Great)" Useful information, Thanks, PB, for congrats and information.

I'll have to think a bit about a new riddle.

I´ll be back later.

[Danik 2016]

Here is the new riddle:

"From a distant country I came,
my small body in chains,
My fettered voice brought fame,
Freedom, obscurity and pain.
Who am I?"

[Pompey Bum]

Were you brought to what is now the United States?

[Danik 2016]

Yes, massa!

[Pompey Bum]

Ooooo-kaaaay, about that, Danik. Twenty-five of my family members that I know of so far fought for the North in the American Civil War. One of them, my grandfather's grandfather, had part of his ear torn off by a head graze. Two of my Quaker ancestors had their own independently operating versions of the Underground Railroad in the years before the war. One of them was a mentor to the famed abolitionist, William Lloyd Garrison. More distant relatives include the theologian Lyman Beecher, often seen as the founder of the abolitionist movement, and his daughter, Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. By the way, I am negligibly African (about 1%).

Sooooooo...to fuss no more about this, let me just say that I do not like being called Massa. I know you were only joking, so let's forget about it and just move on. Fair enough?

Is this author a woman?

[Danik 2016]

Easy, PB! I meant nothing personal, but I wasn´t joking either.

I was merely marking the way in which this slave woman probably would have addressed any white man in her time, so no offense, I hope.

You have every reason to be proud of these ancestors.

[Pompey Bum]

My ancestors are not the issue. I reject all imprecations of collective or racial responsibility for the atrocity of slavery. I do not need to take it easy, you need to knock it off. A sincere apology would be entertained.

[Danik 2016]

Well, I hadn´t the least intention of offending you or anyone(someone else might have answered instead of you). If the riddle had been formulated on another forum in another language, I would use the corresponding term. All I can say is that I´m going to be more careful next time and always use the third person when formulating a riddle.

[Pompey Bum]

Well, it was worth a try.

:leaving:

[tailor STATELY]

Did this writer write poetry ?

[Danik 2016]

It certainly was, thanks for your participation.
The riddle remains open! If there still are participants, we go on with it.

[Danik 2016]

Did this writer write poetry ?

It seems we posted together.
She wrote only poetry and if I remember rightly published a single book.

[tailor STATELY]

Is she Phillis Wheatley ?

[Danik 2016]

She certainly is! Good work, Tailor!

Your Turn!

[Danik 2016]

Double post!

[tailor STATELY]

Thank you !!!

This personage had a Nose for writing:
more than 100 films have been produced
having adaptations based on his or her works
... even toyed once to take up acting -
but Google this and you may be led astray

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

[Danik 2016]

Is it a male author?

[tailor STATELY]

yes..

[Danik 2016]

Is he from US?

[tailor STATELY]

No... not from the Western hemisphere at all

[Danik 2016]

Just ascertaining, Tailor: then it is not Cyrano de Bergerac whose story inspired Edmond Rostand?

[tailor STATELY]

No, Cyrano's author would be Western canon, though I found this gem from Cyrano's wiki interesting:
The entire play is written in verse, in rhyming couplets of twelve syllables per line, very close to the classical alexandrine form, but the verses sometimes lack a caesura. As an aside I have a cousin connection from Cyrano's Theatre Company that I've never cultivated.

Nor Milan Kundera, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_Kundera , whom I believe would be Eastern hemisphere born, but whose quote might be food for thought: "It's a great consolation to think that when we've long been in the grave our noses will still be strolling the earth.” :)

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

[tailor STATELY]

.....

[Danik 2016]

Waited for the spam storm to subside a bit!

I never would have thought of Milan Kundera in association with nose, although the line you mention is interesting. In fact my repertoire of famous noses is very small.:biggrin5:The other one I might think of is Pinocchio, but he lived in Europe and, for aught I know, never took to writing or acting.
So I feel I need a little more context!

Is he from Asia?

[tailor STATELY]

Ok... this may help unmuddy the waters: The country of origin is in the Eastern Hemisphere and yet is considered to be entirely within the European continent ( is in no way in the continent of Asia - even in part ). Staying within my theme I offer you some music to help you concentrate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RtfltxVY4A

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

[Danik 2016]

Enjoyed the music and if the answer Is Nicolai Gogol who wrote the tale "The Nose" it really helped.

[tailor STATELY]

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding !!! Right on The Nose ! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Gogol This is the vision in my head... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YotMwwixPsw

Congratulations ! You're up.

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

[Danik 2016]

Thanks, Tailor. Enjoyed this humorous prelude immensely. It takes something to be able to dance gracefully under those big noses.
Give me a bit of time to think something up.

[Danik 2016]

New riddle:

She was so tired of playing at dolls; so she left.

Who is she? And who is the author?

[tailor STATELY]

hmmm... going with Scraps... the Patchwork Girl of Oz... by L. Frank Baum as my first guess.

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor STATELY

[ennison]

Nora in Ibsen's play A Doll's House

[Danik 2016]

Yes it is Ibsens Nora, congrats to ennison.

The next riddle is yours!

[Danik 2016]

Yes it is Ibsens Nora, congrats to ennison.

The next riddle is yours!

[Danik 2016]

Hi,ennison,

We would enjoy a new literary riddle from you.