J.K. Rowling is the latest to call herself a bloke. Three Bronte sisters Made up male names So they could write, Not vote. George Elliot Was the nom de plume of a British lady fair. In Victorian times It was de riguer For a girl to feign a pair. Distaff scribes Are not alone In borrowing a name Sam Clemens took As “nom De Guerre” The river cry “Mark Twain” And Stephen King Who writes so fast That he’s in overdrive Adopted Richard Bachmann as a name And used it for some time. George Orwell Once was Erich Blair Lewis Carroll was Charles Dodson. “The Hobbit” Was my nom de plume But now I haven’t got one.