Mark Twain (he would rent kittens when he went on a writing vacation since he had to leave his cats behind at home)
Ernest Hemingway (he built a cat tower for his brood of over 30 cats when he lived in Cuba)
Alice Walker (she developed a deep relationship with her cat)
L.M. Montgomery (she claimed grey cats were perfect and adored her cat “Lucky.”
James Herriot (while he loved dogs, he had a special place in his heart and writing for cats)
Edgar Allen Poe (he bonded with his “Catterina” who would sit on his shoulder while he wrote)
Cat Facts
cats can vocalize at least 100 sounds
cats were referred in ancient Egypt
cats can jump six times their body length
cats are known to sleep 12 to 15 hours a day
cats can run up to 30 mph
cat brains are 90% similar to human brains
Cat Poetry Authors through the centuries have eloquently expressed their appreciation for cats through verse. Here are some worthy poems to consider:
Emily Dickinson She sights a Bird—she chuckles— She flattens—then she crawls— She runs without the look of feet— Her eyes increase to Balls …
Edward Lear The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea In a beautiful pea-green boat, They took some honey, and plenty of money, Wrapped up in a five-pound note. The Owl looked up to the stars above, And sang to a small guitar…
Carl Sandburg The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on
Famous Cats
Puss in Boots: good things come to those who trust a cat in stylish boots
Cheshire Cat: Alice learned how talking cats add sanity in a world crazy
Grumpy Cat: aka Tardar, who appeared less than impressed with aspects of life
Garfield: cousin to Grumpy cat
Sylvester: Suffering Succotash not the brightest feline in the basket
Morris: Discerning, not finicky, thank you
Cat in the Hat: such a troublemaker
Felix: the wonderful, wonderful cat
And there are some notable cat proverbs: Nigerian: “When the mouse laughs at the cat a hole is nearby.” Italian: “Happy is the home with at least one cat.” French: “The dog might be wonderful prose but the cat is wonderful poetry.” Irish: “Beware of people who dislike cats.”
I’ve experienced Shakespeare plays (one experiences his works, versus watches them—a bit pompous sounding,sorry) in a variety of forms: live on stage (several as an audience member and once as Horatio—very brief); large screen theater; small screen TV; reading, and teaching.
One favorite form is watching a performance in the park, as it is open air, much like a Globe performance. Plus there is the anticipation of lively audience response, the atmosphere being one of shared spaces and camaraderie. And the plays are usually free, at least the one that comes to our fair city is.
Every year in August the Montana company arrives and performs one of Shakespeare’s popular plays in a local park. This year they presented a As You Like It, which is one of Shakespeare’s more popular comedies.
Laughing Out LoudBard in the Park
Arriving at the park 40 minutes early I discovered the space already teeming with people, but no matter since I prefer the back for that quick exit to avoid the parking lot tangle.
As the sun drifted behind the trees the temps cooled down and the stage action heated up with runaway sons and daughters, tangled romance, and character arcs. As You Like It is a fun romp and the audience showed its appreciation with plenty of applause and laughter.
Bard in the Park signifies the transition from summer fun to back to school readiness. And Jacques mentions going to school in his famous “All the world’s a stage” soliloquy.
Anyone catch a Shakespeare in the Park performance this summer?
Well, it’s August 1st and at this point I used to see the hourglass sand of summer quickly slipping away.
the sands of summer slipping away
August would be the month that all the school supplies lining the aisles of stores and all those incessant reminders to get ready to go back to school would curb my enthusiasm to embrace the rest of summer vacation. A tiny spark of anticipation would form and increasingly grow larger as each day of August ticked by until the inevitable email would land into my inbox reminding me of all of my obligation to attend all the in-service meetings at school.
Ah–but that was then and this is now.
Three years into retirement and I welcome August and recognize summer is not over. So I shall celebrate with an original poem.
July by Pam Webb
July arrives in dragonfly fashion on star-spangled wings dancing in after June’s somewhat fickle days flitting here and wandering there. The days are full of hammock reads, lazy BBQs, and required air-conditioned nights. July is the true summer month. And when its fulsome days have dwindled down to rest
Suddenly–
July forsakes glad company and speedily zooms
into
August.
How do you view August? Is it your true summer month or the nudge that summer is ending?
I always look forward to summer, and I especially look forward to the outdoor Shakespeare performance that comes round in August. It’s not easy waiting another month, so with the prompting of a recently vowed Folger Shakespeare Library post I will pass on some of Shakespeare’s best summer quotes because he must have really liked summer having mentioned summer over 80 times throughout his writing.
Thus sometimes hath the brightest day a cloud, And after summer evermore succeeds Barren winter, with his wrathful nipping cold; So cares and joys abound, as seasons fleet. —Gloucester, Henry IV, Part 2, Act II, scene 4
Now is the winter of our discontent Made glorious summer by this son of York, And all the clouds that loured upon our house In the deep bosom of the ocean buried. —Richard III, Act III, scene 1
And of course the most summery of his summer tributes is Sonnet 18.
Sonnet 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimmed; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature’s changing course untrimmed. But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st, Nor shall Death brag thou wand’rest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st. So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Here’s to you with a hope you can catch an outdoor summer Shakespeare performance. A wondrous season indeed exalted by a wondrous writer.
National Poetry Month is still among us for a few more days and I would be remiss not to mention Shakespeare and his sonnets. There–duly mentioned.
I am sorely tempted to give a brief lesson about the sonnet, something I miss teaching from my AP English Lit days. BUT (which is an indication of the turn in the sonnet mood or message known as the volta–see what I did there? Yes, I did squeeze in a brief lesson), I shall refrain and instead spotlight that other aspect of Shakespeare.
No–not him being a playwright. Did you know he started out writing sonnets and not plays? That he considered himself more poet that playwright and that he inserted many a sonnet into many of his plays? There are four sonnets in Romeo and Juliet alone. The prologue that introduces the play is a sonnet (watch for the volta–hint, hint “which” works as well as “but”):
Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudgeParenthesis break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife. The fearful passage of their death-marked love, And the continuance of their parents’ rage, Which, but their children’s end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
There I am talking about sonnets again. Well, it is National Poetry Month. And being such a famous, well-known poet it is difficult not to have spent at least a bit of time about how the Bard rocked sonnets.
Sonnets. Plays. He did write them supremely well. We still read them, watch them, recite them, discuss them and you know what? Just watch a master recite the master discussing April–very appropriate, wouldn’t you say?
The cat is a nice touch.
Here I meant to talk about the other aspect of Shakespeare, and sonnets distracted me. A worthy distraction, true that. Yet, (another word that works as a volta, since I am changing the direction of this focus), beyond the perfect prose and poetry Shakespeare is so admired for there is a darker, mmm, not quite the right word–ribald, yes, Shakespeare has a definite ribald side to him: his insults!
Throughout his plays his characters lob the cheekiest insults at one another. Keeping in mind the majority of those attending Shakespeare’s plays were of the down-to-earth crowd, known as “groundlings” because they pay a penny to watch the performance and stood for the entire time, often shouting out their commentary to the stage actors. Stands to reason then why Shakespeare inserted earthy lines into his plays. He knew how to play to the crowd.
Here are some examples. They start at mild and run the course from G to PG13.
“Neighbors, you are tedious. ” —Much Ado About Nothing, Act 3, Scene 5
“[You] peevish baggage.” —Pericles, Act 4, Scene 6
“[H]e has not so much brain as earwax.” —Troilus and Cressida, Act 5, Scene 1
“You are not worth another word; else I’d call you knave.” —All’s Well That Ends Well, Act 2, Scene 3
“Out of my sight! Thou dost infect mine eyes.” —Richard III, Act 1, Scene 2
Or you can create your own insults with this link. This is a classroom activity we used to do during our Shakespeare unit in English. It would culminate in an insult-off between a student and myself with the object of hurling such a created invective that the other person would cry–actually it usually ended up with everyone laughing.
So, a tribute to Shakespeare’s prowess with prose and poetry and a solid nod to his poison pen when it came to hurling insults.
I have been a library fan since elementary school. I think my high school year book proclaims I wanted to be a librarian when I grew up. Although my degree ended up as a writing teacher I was a librarian for the first half of my work career and when I switched into the classroom reading and library skills were part of the curriculum.
Now that I am retired I’m a Friends of the Library volunteer and I’m there two-three times a week working with donations.
When I go on vacation I always check out the library. Hawaii, Washington DC, Seattle, Okinawa—I visited all of them.
So, I’m combining National Library Week with National Poetry Month with a POM (Poem of the Month). Emily D recognizes how books are like a ship that sails us to different shores.
There is no Frigate like a Book To take us Lands away, Nor any Coursers like a Page Of prancing Poetry – This Traverse may the poorest take Without oppress of Toll – How frugal is the Chariot That bears a Human soul.
March had plenty of wind and rain marking the start of spring in a blustery way. Most books selected dwelt on mysteries ranging from classics like Josephine Tey to contemporary authors such as Robert Thorogood. Taking a break from solving murders I was delighted to have a longtime library hold arrive and spent a few days relishing a birder’s journal—but this wasn’t just anybody’s birding journal and proved to be my only five star read for the month.
The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan
image: Amazon
Amy Tan applies her talents as a writer to keeping a six year journal of her backyard birds. Her observations are witty and insightful and provide a perspective that falls between enthusiast and expert.
Her detailed descriptions of bird behavior, accompanied by her impressive (and fun) illustrations create an informative and entertaining read.
April is also National Poetry Month and I’m providing an appropriate poem.
A combination of sayings involving those with P and Q.
Packed in like sardines:closely situated; crowded. Around the 19th century this phrase came into use, no doubt due to the crowded conditions found in city dwellings and public transportation. Spike Mulligan in his poem “Sardines” played with the idea: A baby sardine Saw her first submarine: She was scared and watched through a peephole.
“Oh come, come, come,” Said the sardine’s mum. “It’s only a tin full of people.”
image: Tudor
Par for the course: considered average. A golf derivative since “par” indicates the number of strokes expected for a certain hole. The term applied to other aspects around the 1920s with the added connotation of being slightly derogative, as in “Paul brought store bought muffins–which is par for the course. Other meanings attached to the phrase are “up to par” meaning to meet the standard and “below or sub par” expressing not meeting the standard. If Paul had stopped at that chic little bakery on the corner and brought in croissants he no doubt would have earned the accolade of “above par.”
Pay through the nose: being charged an exorbitant fee. The origin of this phrase is not readily found, although it appears to have been around since the 17th century. Some sources attribute it to the punishment of having one’s nose slit if late with tax payment. Thankfully today we can pay late fees without fear of such extremes, although some late fees do hurt.
Piece of cake: easily done. This is from the old tradition known as the cakewalk, in which whoever performed the most intricate dance steps upon the promenade received a cake as a prize. By the twentieth century the phrase became slang for something easily accomplished. For instance, after receiving so much ribbing from his co-workers about the sub par meeting treats, Paul decided to check out the new bakery near his apartment. It was a piece of cake to bring in a box of freshly baked cookies.
Pie in the sky: a false promise for a better life. This is a lyric taken from a song titled “The Preacher and the Slave (1911)” in which there is the promise of living in comfort, eating pie in the Glory Land. Joe Hill of the International Workers of the World or the Wobblies considered fair wages to be the “pie” in his version of the song. However, boxing champ Muhammad Ali is quoted in 1978 as saying, “You don’t want no pie in the sky when you die, you want something here on the ground while you’re still around.”
image: Gospel Coalition
Pride and joy: a prized aspect. Sir Walter Scott is attributed for this saying in his 1813 poem, “Rokeby.” In the poem he states children as a “mother’s pride, a father’s joy.” Today the term applies to anything from an accomplishment to a possession that evokes pride and joy. Back to Paul. That little bakery he began frequenting? He discovered their muffins were their pride and joy and he set up a running order for a baker’s dozen every Thursday.
Pull the wool over one’s eyes: to deceive someone. This saying does not involve sheep. Instead it involves wigs, the ones British judges and barristers wore (and wear). Apparently it refers to a clever barrister’s ability of momentarily blinding a judge with their argument, essentially slipping their wig (which were made from wool?) over their eyes. More figurative than literal. Today the reference applies to anyone who has been fooled by a person, whether knowingly or unknowingly.
Put one’s money where one’s mouth is: show intention with actions, not just by words. Thought to have started around 1930, around the time of WWII, being used in many English-speaking countries. In the 1970s the British government applied turned the phrase into an ad campaign to convince in the NSBAD (National Savings Bank Accounts Department. Another less polite associative phrase is “Put up or shut up.”
image: Peter Perlegas art
Put words into someone’s mouth: to credit someone saying something when they didn’t. This one is found in the Old Testament in 2 Samuel 14:3: “So Joab put the words in her mouth.” Paul again. “I did not say I made the muffins. I said I made a run to the bakery to get the muffins. Honestly, quit putting words in my mouth.”
Quantum leap: an notable advancement; a great improvement. Going with nuclear physics on this one, in which the abrupt transition from one energy state to another is considered a quantum leap (very simplified). That’s literal term. The figurative term refers to the size of the transition, usually an exaggeration, as in “Wow, Paul, two weeks in a row you’ve brought in freshly made muffins. That’s a quantum leap from the days of stale grocery rack cookies.”
image: LanGeek
Quick as a wink: instantly achieved. There are several analogies that are similar, such as “quick as bunny” or “quick as a bee” or “quick as lightning.” As early as 1546 these proverbs or maxims were found in sources. The expression is still in use.
Quid pro quo: something is received in exchange for something given. This one is also known as “tit for tat” which was used by Shakespeare in Henry VI Part 1 when Margaret tells the Earl of Suffolk, “I cry you mercy, ’tis but quid pro quo” (5:3).
Many, oh so many, cliches with P were left on the editing floor. So fill up the comments with the ones that didn’t make the post or check them out in Christine Ammer’s Have a Nice Day: A Dictionary of Clichés.
Spring supposedly began March 19th. Words fail me when it comes to describing the fickleness of the weather. Shakespeare knows just what to say.
As sun and showers
There had made a lasting Spring.
– Henry VIII Act III, Scene i
The spring is near when green geese are a-breeding.
– Love’s Labour’s Lost Act I, Scene i
Unruly blasts wait on the tender spring;
– Lucrece (Poem)
Yes, last week crocus flowers heralded the arrival of sunny days and I basked in spring’s warmth while reading. Today it’s stoking the fire and watching the grey skies dribble out its watery lament.
Pam Webb 