Here’s what Washington Times columnist John McCaslin had to say about Politickles:
For several years now, Inside the Beltway has published thought-provoking political limericks penned by “F.R. Duplantier.” Readers, at the same time, often inquired of the limerist’s background — some long suspecting this columnist was behind the verse beneath the nom de plume “Duplantier.”
Oh, to be so talented.
Both my parents were journalists in New Orleans,” Mr. Duplantier reveals. “My dad wrote for the States-Item; my mother was a photographer and feature writer for Dixie Roto, the old color supplement to the Times-Picayune. They were both Marines, too, my father serving with the occupation troops in Japan and my mother stationed in Honolulu during World War II.
“My wife, Evann, is a free-lance graphic artist and home-schooling mother of six. She’s also the product of two press people. Her mother, who studied journalism under my father, was for many years director of university relations at Loyola New Orleans; her dad was a documentary film photographer for WWL-TV, the CBS affiliate in New Orleans. Our kids also have excellent art and writing skills, so it looks like we’re establishing a communications dynasty.”
As for the limerist himself, from 1995 to 2001 the modest Mr. Duplantier penned and produced “Behind The Headlines,” a nationally-syndicated radio and newspaper commentary. Prior to that, he edited a news magazine, and way back in 1984 published his first collection of cartoons, titled “Only in New Orleans.” Then, in 2000, the presses pumped out “Politickles: Limericks Lampooning the Lunatic Left,” many of which, we’re proud to say, originally appeared in this column. (Mr. Duplantier’s Web site, www.politickles.com, has a link for purchasing the book, plus archives and curiosities of various kinds.)
Finally, it’s worth noting that we published yesterday’s latest limerick about the just-dethroned Rep. James A. Traficant directly beneath an item on Congress conferring honorary citizenship of the United States on the Marquis de Lafayette, the French general who fought bravely alongside American colonists during the Revolutionary War. “Funny you should include my limerick right after an item on Lafayette,” Mr. Duplantier told us. “My ancestor, Armand Allard Duplantier, came to America as an aide to the marquis and served as a captain in the Continental Army under his command.”
(“Inside The Beltway,” Thursday, August 1, 2002)