Edward E. Paramore. The Ballad of Yukon Jake (1928)

     Edward E. Paramore. The Ballad of Yukon Jake (1928). A pamphlet, so to speak, in which is reprinted the poem of the above name, originally published in Vanity Fair in 1921; there must have been some call for the reprint. Paramore (his name sounds suspiciously pseudonymous) satirises Service’s verse; the villain of the piece in fact succumbs to evil desires upon reading a ballad by Service, deflowers a local virgin, and goes off to the Yukon, where he becomes a Very Bad Hat. The girl follows him, intent on saving him from a life of debauchery and crime and restoring her own reputation, but old habits die hard, and Jake deflowers her again. Upon which the girl becomes a dance hall floozie, Jake continues on his merry bad way, and all is wrong with the world. A pleasant squib, and cheap at the price I bought it: $2. **½ (2003)