Go-Go Girls

by William Peskett

Limericks are those rhymes that go 'There was a young man from de-dum, Who dum-ditty-dum-ditty-dum'. A form of poetry more commonly used to describe old men with owls nesting in their beards, or perhaps ladies from Ealing who can do remarkable things on the ceiling, than the everyday lives of Pattaya bar girls. Maybe it was a combination just waiting to happen. Wait no longer. Go-Go Girls is a charming collection of Limericks devoted to the unsung heroines of Pattaya night-life, the young women who gyrate around the chrome poles and entertain customers at their little tables and, possibly, later in their hotel rooms. Go-go girls are the consummate night-time professionals; their skills are to tempt you into buying them a drink, cause you to fall ever-so-slightly in love with them and then lighten your wallet as painlessly as possible. Often the relationship between a go-go girl and her customer will last for years. Long after the smitten dope has returned to his own country he may find himself topping up her bank account, on the promise that she has left her job in the bar and is chastely awaiting his return. It could even be true. Amazingly, some of these clever little verses get close to providing the answer.

44 pages, Paperback

First published February 17, 2012

About the author

I have been a biology teacher and a journalist; and I have worked in marketing, design management and corporate relations. Through it all, I have maintained a love of writing. It began with poetry and I was lucky enough to be brought up in Northern Ireland in the 1970s and 80s when there was a lot of poetry about. During this time I published in magazines and newspapers, performed readings and broadcast. I wrote two volumes of poems, The Nightowl’s Dissection and Survivors, the first of which won an Eric Gregory Award. Amazingly, both are now back in print with Harvill Secker.

I read natural sciences at Cambridge University and spent my professional life in Suffolk and London. Now retired, I live in Pattaya, Thailand where I tend my jungle garden and, naturally, write. I've written three novels. My adopted country provides ample material: recent collections of essays and short stories deal with issues in a distinctly Thai setting.

Reviews

[Matt Carrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious - an absolute must if you have any knowledge at all of the Thai bar scene. Who writes Limericks any more? I thought they had gone out with the Ark but the author absolutely nails the bar girl/customer relationship with this small but perfectly formed collection.

Shakespeare's sonnets? - bah humbug. Try Peskett's Limericks