GERSHON LEGMAN
1917 - 1999
This limerick site is dedicated to Gershon Legman (1917 - 1999), author of the two-volume works Rationale of the Dirty Joke and No Laughing Matter: An Analysis of Sexual Humor. Among his other books were The Horn Book: Studies in Erotic Folklore; The Limerick; More Limericks; The New Limerick; Oral-Genitalism: Oral Techniques in Genital Excitement; and Love and Death: A Study in Censorship.
Gershon Legman has laid claim to having invented (1938) the first vibrating dildo at the age of 21 and is credited with having coined the phrase "Make Love, Not War," during a speech in 1963. Jack Hafferkamp, in the Summer 1999 issue of LIBIDO, remembers Gershon Legman as "...a scholar, raconteur, irascible character, and world's top-ranking authority on erotic folklore and humor."
Before writing limericks, I was a Sexologist and first came to know Legman’s work through his comprehensive book on oral sex, and this 1969 book Oral-Genitalism is quoted frequently in my book Oral Caress. As my interest in writing limericks grew, I became acquainted with this man's massive collection of limericks, all categorized and well-documented. I am deeply appreciative of his combined fascination with sexuality and erotic humor. Who best could remind us that sex should be fun?
Robert W. Birch, Ph.D.
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