"Preposterous Pre-Posthumous"

       Poet David Ferry was on the PBS NewsHour tonight.  He had been one of five nominees for the National Book Award.  When asked what he thought his chances were, he said, "My hope is maybe they'd give it to me as a preposterous pre-posthumous award."

      "Posthumous" means "after earth" (humus=earth), so after burial, but "pre-" would then have to be before such burial and still alive--a better time to actually receive an award in person.

       If  "pre" means "before" and Latin posterus means "coming after" (OED), then the fore is coming after and the after before; the verbal house of cards collapses; and it IS preposterous.

       At eighty-eight--and being a poet--Ferry could both worry about and have fun with such things.   And maybe it's why he won the award.