We're at that blissful moment in the reading
when I'm about to read my penultimate poem.
[CHUCKLING]
This is a paragraph from Chapter U for Zhu Yu.
This chapter from Eunoia concerns, of course,
the exploits of Ubu Roi, the pea-brained, pot-bellied
dictator made famous, of course, by the French playwright Alfred
Jarry.
I often get asked to read this particular paragraph.
"Ubu gulps up brunch, duck, hummus, nuts, fugu, bulgur,
buns, crusts plus crumbs, blutwurst, Brühwurst, spuds,
curds, plums, munch, munch.
Ubu sups.
Ubu slurps rum punch.
Ubu chugs full cups plus mugs.
Full tubs plus tons.
Glug glug.
Ubu gluts up grub, thus Ubu's plump gut hurts.
Ubu grunts.
Ugh, ugh.
Ubu burps up mucus, sputum.
Ubu upchucks lunch.
Ubu slumps.
Ubu sulks.
Ubu shrugs.
Ubu slurs drunk chums.
Ubu snubs such drunks, thus curt churls cuss, shut up, Ubu.
Shut up.
Gruff punks club Ubu.
Butch thugs drug Ubu.
Ku Klux cults Kung Fu punch Ubu.
Rum dumb bums bust up pubs."