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William Rossa Cole

WILLIAM ROSSA COLE (1919 - 2000), editor, essayist, and light-verse poet, authored or co-authored over 80 anthologies and children's books, including the classic Beastly Boys and Ghastly Girls.

Some Rules for the Conduct of Young Gentlemen, Part 2

Never wear those visor-hats with advertising messages on them. Especially those that consist of visor only. Very tacky. Don’t tip back on chairs, especially straight chairs or those with rickety legs. They could break apart and embarrass you and cost the owners time and money.

Some Rules for the Conduct of Young Gentlemen (No. 1)

DON’T spit in the street. If you MUST spit, do it into a tissue; discreetly. Or make sure nobody is looking at you, especially women, and spit in the gutter.

The Weathered Poem AND THE WORN CHAIR

Pops. Look at you there with your long billy-goat scruff.

War’s Past: The Teeth of War

It would be too much of a generality to say that the smaller the country, the nice the people. But it is a truth that of the eight European countries I was in during the war, the nicest people by far were those in Wales and Luxembourg.

Some Rules for the Conduct of Young Gentlemen

In the late 1980s, the esteemed humorist and editor William Cole presented the following dicta—in three installments—to his teenage sons Williams and Rossa. 

Goofing Off

It was September 1945. The war in Europe was over. I had spent the previous two years chasing all over France and Germany with the 28th Infantry Division.

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The Brooklyn Rail

JUNE 2023

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