When You're up to Your Ass in Alligators: More Urban Folklore from the Paperwork Empire

by Alan Dundes, Carl Pagter

Office copier folklore―those tattered sheets of cartoons, mottoes, zany poems, defiant sayings, parodies, and crude jokes that regularly circulate in office buildings everywhere―is the subject of this innovative study. this type of folklore represents a major form of tradition in modern America, and the authors have compiled this raw data for scholarship―and entertainment. These creations of the Paperwork Empire comment on topics and problems that concern all urban Americans. No one and nothing escapes their raunchy wit and sarcasm. Bosses, ethnic groups, minorities, the sexes, alternative lifestyles, politics, welfare, government workers, the law, bureaucracy, and even "The Night Before Christmas" all come under fire to form a biting, and hilarious, commentary on modern American society.

Genres: Folklore, Humor

272 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1987

About the author

Alan Dundes was a folklorist at the University of California, Berkeley. His work was said to have been central to establishing the study of folklore as an academic discipline. He wrote 12 books, both academic and popular, and edited or co-wrote two dozen more. One of his most notable articles was called "Seeing is Believing" in which he indicated that Americans value the sense of sight more than the other senses.

Reviews

[Ray Metz · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of those books that you buy to have a laugh or fill your time with something interesting. This was neither for me. Hard to believe a book with such racist and sexist content was done in the late 80’s.

In the conclusion the authors state that they think copier folklore is a form that should be taken seriously by folklorists.

“As copier-machine technology spreads across the world, one may anticipate that copier folklore will follow in its wake.”

Do I even know where a copier is any more?

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating collection of urban folklore

[Manish Karki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny