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.

Concentrating on lore gathered since World War II, Bronner has assembled an anthology of what children really say, not what adults wish they would say. It is through such shared lore—songs, expressions, games and beliefs—that children adapt to new situations. Bronner includes secret languages, jump rope rhymes, song parodies, games, taunts, tongue twisters, jokes, and more. These treasures make for nostalgic reading for adults who want to relive their own childhoods or gain a window to their own children's world.

Work Hard and You Shall be Urban Folklore from the Paperwork Empire (paperback)