Larry Eisenberg, New York Times Limerick King, Dies At 99
Larry Eisenberg in his apartment in 2016. Image by Marisa Scheinfeld
By PJ Grisar December 27, 2018
Larry Eisenberg, commenter supreme,
Has passed away, it would seem
As recorded in The Times,
Which he graced with his lines,
His daughter reports she’s bereaved.
With his limericks sublime,
Eisenberg was 99,
A biomedical engineer
And Sci-Fi writer who endeared,
He was truly one of a kind.
Born to parents Sidney and Yetta,
Larry was a Bronx-raised go-getta.
He gained two bachelors’ in the city,
Next a Masters and a PhD,
Then taught at the University of Rockefeller
He directed its electrics lab
And at writing took a stab.
1965’s “Limericks for the Loo”
Written with George Gordon, that’s who,
Plus some poems for Jewish lads.
To the internet he took late
First commenting in 2008.
Anapests he wrote with aplomb,
Remarking on NYTimes.com
A break from the usual debate.
His first on an op-ed by Obama
With his plans for Middle East drama.
Eisenberg, done with that theater,
Responded to the then-senator in meter,
Calling for an end to the trauma:
“A ‘residual force,’ Mr. O.?
With ‘limited missions,’ ah, so,
Precipitous? Nay!
It’s a sure way to stay.
Your plan sounds like ‘in statu quo’!”
Profiled by the Forward in 2016
Eisenberg said how lucky he’d been.
“I loved going in every day,”
He said of his Rock Uni stay.
In retirement he became a meme.
With over 13,000 comments
His limerick legacy cements,
With verses sharp and mainly clean,
Many website readers gleaned
A sense of endless enjoyment.
PJ Grisar is the Forward’s culture intern. He can be reached at [email protected].
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
