Did You Kiss a Cat Today - by Diane Stevenson & Geri Lipschultz & James Berger (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Did You Kiss A Cat Today was written by 3 poets who applied the skill and sophistication of how they write for older folks and applied it to how we write for younger folks. For one thing, they think children are very smart and have a very sly sense of humor. Sometimes, though, adults overlook this. They don't, and they don't talk down! They've tried to meet children on their level, a level they consider pretty high. Plus, they try not to be too preachy. Poetry is true and serious and fun, and that's the magic they wanted to convey. This book is fresh and exhilarating because even though these poems come from three distinct sensibilities, they do, both individually and collectively, conjure a child's world with its irrepressible freshness. Everything that happens can be the poem. The smallest thing; the largest thing. To tell a story is good. To tell just a piece of a story is good. In a poem, you don't have to finish the story. Sometimes the middle of the story can be best! So, enjoy the poems!"

Review Quotes

"I love this book! It makes me want to be a child again, or to adopt my children again, or to borrow someone else's child, or to read the poems to my dog and my cats. And why stop there? I want to read these poems to everyone I meet, because they are full of joy. Joy in language, joy in imagination, joy in mixing the "real" and "fantasy" worlds, joy in telling stories. It's been a long time since I've felt so much happiness in poem world. Even the monster under my bed will love hearing me read them out loud in the dark. Maybe then we'll be friends." - Susan M. Schultz is an American poet, critic, and publisher.

"Just finished reading the "Did You Kiss a Cat" collection of poems and I found it to be a treasure. The diversity of styles kept me involved, and I found myself reading the entire book in one sitting. The poems evoked a variety of sensations - feelings, memories, images, whimsy, and daydreams. They made me want to pick up canyons and draw, or pick up a pen and write. The poems are enjoyable to read alone for solo reflection, to read with a parent or friend, or to discuss in a classroom or library setting. May this wonderful collection spread far and wide, and tickle the imaginations of children." - Janice Buckner Certified Teacher and HS National Touring Children's Performer: Song & Puppetry.

About the Author

Jim Berger received his BA from Columbia University, and a PhD from Univ. of Virginia. Jim is a poet, teacher, and literary scholar. He taught 3rd grade students; he was a member of the Teachers and Writers Collaborative (New York): teaching poetry writing in elementary schools. He was an adjunct professor teaching freshman comp Hostos Community College. He was a visiting Asst. Prof. of English at George Mason University and Asst. Prof, Associate Prof. Full Prof. of English at Hofstra University: Currently he's the Senior Lecturer in American Studies and English at Yale University. He has been awarded the prestigious Taft Postdoctoral Fellowship, and the National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship. Jim has published two academic monographs, four books of poems, and two odd collections of "manifestos". Jim edited the book Helen Keller, The Story of My Life published by Random House, He was reviewed in The New Yorker, and the Women's Review of Books.

Diane Stevenson was born and raised on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Her mother's family was among the first French settlers here. She secured a M.F.A. from Columbia University and was granted a graduate degree without an undergraduate degree. Next, she parlayed Columbia's Ph.D. program in American literature and published a small press book, The Beauty Shop Monologues was displayed in the window of City Lights Bookstore. She's a Breadloaf Scholar and the Gotham Book Mart nominated it to The Pushcart Prize, and I was listed in an early edition under "Outstanding Writers: Poets." She taught at Sarah Lawrence College, Hobart and William Smith, and the University of Southern Mississippi. She's published poems and articles in journals; The Nation, Boulevard, Pataphysics, Raritan, The Yale Review, Socialist Review, The Mississippi Review. Her husband was the late great film critic and historian Gilberto Perez.

Geri Lipschultz has an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, as well as a Ph.D. from Ohio University. She has twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and teaches writing at Hunter College and Borough of Manhattan Community College. Some of her publications include work in New York Times, College English, Kalliope, Black Warrior Review, Great Weather for MEDIA, and The Toast. She has a story and poem in Pearson's college anthology, Literature: Introduction to Reading and Writing, as well as a story in Spuyten Duyvil's The Wreckage of Reason II. She has blogged at wewantedtobewriters.com. Her novels have been finalists for Eyewear Publishing, Subito Press, and others. She was awarded a Creative Artists in Public Service (CAPS) grant from New York State for her fiction, and her one-woman show (titled Once Upon the Present Time) was produced in NYC by Woodie King, Jr. Her first book of fiction is slated for publication by Dark Winter Press in 2025. She's currently living in a cabin in the lower Adirondacks.