There was a small group from Spokane…

What happens when a room full of writers gets together to read some limericks? A half hour’s worth of fun.

That’s what happened Monday night when Auntie’s Bookstore played host to 30 or more literary fans who listened, laughed with and applauded 13 writers whose work was deemed among the best of the more than 300 limericists who submitted entries to The Spokesman-Review’s 2003 limerick contest.

It was a diverse group. Kathryn Hamshar came from Priest River, Idaho. Dick Warwick came from Oakesdale, Wash. Don F. Daniels took the stage with the help of his cane. Jim Cranford looked as if he could have read his limericks while doing jumping jacks. Gina Stracchino’s British accent betrayed the fact that, despite her surname, she isn’t Italian (sorry, Gina). And Gordon Jackson’s accent pegged him as a native South African.

Whatever their differences, they all had one thing in common: a love of language. And not one, though it was never said for sure, is from Nantucket.