6 Important Writerly Questions with Lance Hansen

Lance Hansen, by Lance Hansen

I’m madly jealous of Lance Hansen, and I’m only exaggerating a little bit. I can do a lot of things fairy well, most of the them involving artistic pursuits and the creation and manipulation of words, but I’m always deeply impressed with people who can ad lib a quick, structured poem — particularly a pointed, humorous one — and anybody who can draw. Well, would you get a load of this guy? This Lance Hansen? He can do both of those things, and extremely well. Fortunately, for literally everyone, he’s decided to not keep those gifts to himself, and, after gracing Mad, The Nation, and American Bystander with his work, he’s published his first book with Humorist Books. That book is Limerature 101: Literary Classics in Five Lines or Less (With Pictures).

So, he’s taken the entirety of the history of literature, picked out a few dozen classics, and broken each one down into a hilarious, lightly critical summary-meets-review, and accompanied each one with an original illustrated portrait of the author. Check out a few spreads right here. Hansen recently took a break from his busy schedule of casual excellence to sit down and answer some questions about his life, his work, and everything (else).

1. Who are you? What are you doing here?

My name is Lance Hansen. I am a cartoonist and writer of light verse. I have a new book out called Limerature 101.

2. Since “Where do you get your ideas?” is a terrible question, what made you want to write this book?

I started writing these poems while I was at work. I guess was trying to keep my mind off of the state of the world, back in the beginning of the pandemic.

3. How did you keep writing this book?

Out of desperation.

4. Who is this book for, anyway?

Hmm. Bookworms? Lit majors? Librarians? Hopefully, a lot of people.

5. Any darlings you had to kill?

Well, not really. There was one version of one of the limericks that maybe could’ve been a bit offensive, that I kinda liked, but after discussing it with the publisher and the editor, we decided to use the one that’s in the book (which I liked also). I’m usually pretty open to editing suggestions and I try not to get too attached.

6. What are you working on now?

I’m working on a graphic novel. It’s a biography of German photomontage artist, social critic and satirist, John Heartfield. The book is a collaboration with the artist’s grandson, John M Heartfield. I’m also a staff artist at The American Bystander.

Limerature 101: Literary Classics in Five Lines or Less (With Pictures), by Lance Hansen. Go get it then.

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