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Now We Are Sick: An Anthology of Nasty Verse (1991)

Edited by Neil Gaiman and Stephen Jones
(a) DreamHaven Books, USA • hc • $20.00
ISBN 0-9630944-1-6
Illustrated by Andrew Smith and Clive Barker
(b) DreamHaven Books, USA • hc (limited, signed edition) • $50.00
ISBN 0-9630944-0-8
Illustrated by Andrew Smith and Clive Barker
Now We Are Sick: An Anthology of Nasty Verse edited by Stephen Jones & Neil Gaiman
[Note: A chapbook "sampler" was produced in February 1986 for prospective contributors. Illustrated by Alan Hunter and limited to 150 copies, it included an Introducton by Neil Gaiman and Stephen Jones, plus poems by The Editors, Diana Wynne Jones, Alan Moore, Ramsey Campbell, Jo Fletcher, Gene Wolfe and John M. Ford.]

Neil Gaiman and Stephen Jones have gathered together a unique collection of funny, frivolous and frightening poems by thirty of the world’s best-known science fiction, fantasy and horror authors. You are guaranteed to scream with laughter and chuckle in fear as you enter the warped imaginations of these masters of the macabre, for better or verse. If for children you mistook
The rhymes and poems in this book,
We must at once aplogize
And open up your blinkered eyes.
Please do not feel sad or lonely
When we warn: FOR ADULTS ONLY!

  • (c) DreamHaven Books, USA • tpb • $11.95 • (1994) ISBN 0-9630944-4-0 Illustrated by Andrew Smith and Clive Barker
    Now We Are Sick: An Anthology of Nasty Verse (1991)
  • (d) DreamHaven Books, USA • tpb • $9.95 • (2005) ISBN 1-892058-10-3 Illustrated by Andrew Smith and Clive Barker
    Now We Are Sick: An Anthology of Nasty Verse (1991)
  • (e) as TOUS MALADES! UN RECUEIL DE SALES POÈMES Bragelonne, France • hc • €15 • (2006) ISBN 2-35294-007-9 ISBN13 978-2-35294-007-4 Illustrated by Clive Barker, Boulet, Melaka and Reno
    Now We Are Sick: An Anthology of Nasty Verse (1991)
  • (f) as ΑΡΡΟΕΤΗΜΕΑ ΜΥΑΛΑ Jemma Press, Greece (2009) • hc ISBN 978-960-6732-20-1 Illustrated by Georgios Dimitriou and Clive Barker
    Now We Are Sick: An Anthology of Nasty Verse (1991)
  • (g) as NOW WE ARE SICK: UNA ANTOLOGIA DE VERSOS ESPANTOSOS 23 Escalones, Spain • tp • € 22 • (2011) ISBN: 978-84-15104-79-7 Illustrated by Irene León Guijarro Prólogo de Ángel Luis Sucasas [Note: "Edición bilingüe e ilustrada" / "Edición Limitada"]
    Now We Are Sick: An Anthology of Nasty Verse (1991)
NOW WE ARE SICK The Editors
   
NASTY HABITS  
A SLICE OF LIFE Diana Wynne Jones
AUNTIE ETHEL Richard Hill
YOU ALWAYS EAT THE ONE YOU LOVE Kim Newman
CHOCOLATE AND WORMS David Garnett
THE DANGERS OF COLOUR TV Simon Ian Childer
THE CHILDREN’S HOUR Alan Moore
RADIO NASTY Stephen Gallagher
SOMETHING CAME OUT OF THE TOILET Harry Adam Knight
THE SECRET BOOK OF THE DEAD Terry Pratchett
MUMMY’S BLOCKED THE LAV AGAIN John Grant
   
IN LOVING MEMORY  
RICE PUDDING Brian Aldiss
ABOARD THE GOOD SHIP ‘REVENGER’ Galad Elflandsson
THE DREAM OF OMAR K. YAM David Sutton
YOU’RE DECEASED, FATHER WILLIAM Colin Greenland
   
LESS WELCOME TENANTS  
A LANDLADY’S LAMENT Ramsey Campbell
THE BORGIA BRATS Garry Kilworth
ANOTHER CURSED HOUSE STORY John M. Ford
WAITING . . . James Herbert
THE THING AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS Sharon Baker
THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT Ian Pemble
   
NIGHT FEARS  
IN THE DARK Storm Constantine
LIGHTS OUT Alex Stewart
A MOTHER’S TENDER LOVE Jo Fletcher
CATCAWLS Samantha Lee
THE HAUNTED HENHOUSE Jessica Amanda Salmonson
WHEN THE MUSIC BREAKS R.A. Lafferty
   
ADULTS ONLY  
NASTY SNOW Jody Scott
WHY PRIVATE WAR Gene Wolfe
THE ANSWERING MACHINE S.P. Somtow
   
EPILOGUE  
WARNING: DEATH MAY BE INJURIOUS TO YOUR HEALTH Robert Bloch

Reviews

  • “(Now We Are Sick) is the long awaited sicko poetry anthology for kids with weird taste and their elders.”
    —THE YEAR’S BEST FANTASY AND HORROR
  • “A delightful anthology of gruesome rhyme.”
    —Stan Nicholls
    THE DARK SIDE, July 1992
  • “Slick, gross, humorous, wry, slanted, poignant, moving, vomit-inducing and great, great fun . . . If you have the same warped sense of black humour as I do, then this is a definite must.”
    —David Howe
    STARBURST No.166, June 1992
  • “A very morbid, very funny collection. Fantasy readers with a taste for dark humor should enjoy it.”
    —John Betancourt
    AMAZING STORIES, February 1992
  • “An ideal gift for a child you love-or perhaps for one you hate.”
    —John Grant
    SAMHAIN