Father Clodian Gumpert is the moderator of the Saint Contraceptua Youthful Anti-Smut League and author of the numerous religious pamphlets (Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies, 99).
Author[]
Gumpert's pamphlets include:
- "After Marriage: All Systems GO?"
- "Keep Your Hands to Yourself"
- "So You Think Chastity is a Joke!"
- "The Topless Bathing Suit and the Bottomless Pit"
Inspiration[]
The name Clodian has the echo of clod, while Gumpert is another one of Bellairs's made-up words. Or a nod to baseball player Randy Gumpert (1918-2008).
The titles of the religious pamphlets are are obviously fictional but based on some reality – how close are these titles to the real thing?
"Catholic pamphlets aimed at teens were not luridly titled and aimed at a friendly, straightforward writing style. John is truly exaggerating and being unfair with Gumpert's writing.[1]"
"The actual titles were considerably tamer - like "Father Bob Talks Straight from the Shoulder to Patty and Joe". John's are a little over the top but not too far from the spirit of the contents, at least. What little of this stuff I remember reading was rather smarmy in tone, presuming that Patty and Joe were eager for Father Bob's wise guidance. The scolding tone in John's parody titles was mostly reserved for sermons, where the audience was captive.[2]”
References[]
- ↑ Correspondence with Alfred Myers.
- ↑ Correspondence with Charles Bowen.