Literary Parodies and Pastiches
A selection of literary parodies and pastiches by Max Scratchmann. These introductions are deliberately obtuse so as not to spoil the pleasure for those who like to rootle out the original poems being parodied for themselves, but all is revealed in the commentary accompanying the individual poems.
Making Bovril for Martin Amis
Accompanied by Max's own illustration, Making Bovril for Martin Amis is quite a low brow literary parody to commence proceedings.
Indoor Games Near Kirkton
A coming of age poem which is a celebration of the loss of a young man's innocence in slightly seedy circumstances.
Robert Burns Addresses the Scottish Nation on Burns Night
Not a parody of a specific poem, but rather a poem poking gentle fun at the whole Burns Night brouhaha.
The Fish Supper of J Alfred Prufrock
A straight parody of the T S Elliot classic (little chance of concealing the identity of this one) in which, thankfully, fish supper, is not a euphemism.
Poem in the Scots after Hugh MacDiarmid
'One of the strange things about being a good middle class Scottish boy is that you’re strongly discouraged from actually ever speaking in the Scots language, this being considered a decidedly lower class dialect. However, in the age old tradition of Marie Antoinette playing toy farms in the back garden of Versailles, it’s considered perfectly OK to write in the Scots tongue now and then, and, in the grand old manner of Hugh MacDiarmid, many a modern poet pens collections of archaic “wurrds” under the banner preserving the local patois. Well, I thought, there’s no reason why I should miss out on all of this fun…' Max Scratchmann
Business Women
A poem of sharp suited business women, glass ceilings and domestic drudgery.
The Blog of My Enemy Has Been TOSed
An parody which updates the scenario of the original poem for the social media age.
The Reveller
The Reveller is the first of two parodies (the other is The Messenger) of the same classic Poe(m).
To A Mousse
A glorious parody of the incomparable Scottish poet's famouse (sic) murine poem.
The Messenger
The Messenger is accompanied by Max Scratchmann's own illustrations, which manage to enliven, but not illuminate, proceedings.
