Big Cat, Little Cat: The Fourth Wall Was the Fourth Wall Always There? Back in my dissertatin’ days, one of my particular interests was: the occasions on which an epic poet talks in the first person. You might say: times when the poet breaks the fourth wall. For example, the way Homer does at the…
Category: A Piece of Our Minds
Writing Fiction: Learning to Say “I Can”
About two years ago, fueled by COVID and general upheaval in my life, I started writing again. Writing was something I’d loved doing. Until I let someone into my life who destroyed my confidence in so many ways. And, as a result, I stopped doing things that brought me joy. That was almost twenty-five years…
Jokes in Bad Taste (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Jokes in Bad Taste What is it about Jokes in Bad Taste that I can’t Quit? I’m a big believer in making jokes that punch up, not down. I will make jokes about transphobia or racism. But never about a trans person or a Black person. One of the canards you…
Pain and Palliative Care
COVID: Another Source of Pain… and Anxiety So after nearly 36 months of working so hard to avoid COVID, I’ve got the spicy cough. I’m not actually coughing too much, but I’m congested, I’ve got itchy eyes, I’m aching everywhere and I’m exhausted. Those last two things aren’t all that unusual. Aches and exhaustion are…
Sharing (Caturday Questions)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Sharing Timing a Joke Did you ever go through a period of maybe a few months or maybe… twenty years… in which every time you tried to tell a joke nobody laughed? And it took until you were in your mid-twenties to early thirties before people started actually laughing when you…
Kindness: Be Kind, not Nice
Last week I got a new roommate here in rehab. She’s recovering from some pretty major surgery and really isn’t “alert and oriented”. Her husband has been coming here every day and sitting with her for ten to twelve hours a day. He clearly loves her very much and wants to do all he can…
Exactly the Same
Something I don’t yet understand.But wish to:When I write a poemI put my heart into it.Think deeply into a questionScratch out revision after revisionRage for days, months, yearsFinish only when I can whisper:This is how I felt.This is how I and only I felt at this one unique momentThis singular combination of circumstances that never…
Playing Telephone (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Playing Telephone Playing Telephone: Mistakes and Fiction This is one of the most interesting and thorny subjects. It’s hard to imagine a bigger difference between fiction and life than the issue of mistakes. In life, we make mistakes all the time. We act against our self-interest. And of course we just…
Observations of a Jew on Christmas
Let’s talk about Christmas. Sure, I’m Jewish and I talk a lot about being Jewish. But when you consider how many of your favorite Christmas songs (and the best Christmas songs) were written by Jews, it’s clear that Jews have plenty to say about Christmas. I certainly do. Christmas, Whether you Like it or Not…
Merry Christmas! (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat: What, to a Cat, is Christmas? Description Three identical images side by side. In each, two cats sit on a cushion. On the left sits a large orange with darker orange stripes. He smiles down at his companion, eyes closed, face placid. On the right sits a small grey with darker…