Feline Warrior

Oh, the cry that escaped my mouth when I read that headline, just moments ago. I love Grace Paley. Anytime I get to write a list of favorite books, Paley’s “The Little Disturbances of Man” is at the top of the list. A book of short stories, it came into my mitts just when I needed it.

My mother and I saw Grace Paley read from another book (I’m embarrassed to say I forget which, now) at the Folger Shakespeare in Washington, DC. She was alive - brilliant, humble, articulate, clever, human. And a writer. Everything I wanted to be. Grace Paley is someone I have admired.

So I’ll give you a few snips below, plus a link to a story on Democracy Now.

A full snip (and therefore not truly a snip, but what can you do?):

“The acclaimed American poet, short story writer, and anti-war activist Grace Paley has died. She was 84 years old and died Wednesday in her home in Vermont.

“A native of the Bronx, Grace Paley was the former state poet laureate in both New York and Vermont. She also received numerous prizes for her work including the Lannan Literary Award, a National Book Award, and a Senior Fellowship recognizing her lifetime contribution to literature from the National Endowment for the Arts.

“Since the 1960s Paley was very active in the anti-war, feminist, and anti-nuclear movements. She helped found the Greenwich Village Peace Center in 1961. Eight years later she went on a peace mission to Hanoi. In 1974 she attended the World Peace Conference in Moscow.

“In 1980, she helped organize the Women’s Pentagon Action. And in 1985 Paley visited Nicaragua and El Salvador, after having campaigned against the U.S. government’s policies toward these countries. She was also one of “The White House Eleven,” who were arrested in 1978 for unfurling an anti-nuclear banner on the White House lawn.

“Just over four years ago, at the start of the war on Iraq, we interviewed Grace Paley. In February, 2003, the First Lady had cancelled a White House poetry symposium honoring Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman. Laura Bush had feared the invited poets might invoke poems critical of invading Iraq.”

Here’s a little bit more on her: http://www.reaaward.org/html/grace_paley.html

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Tags: GracePaley, “short story, writer

After receiving a few worried email messages, I thought it best to post and let ya’ll know that there was no tornado at my house. All’s well. When I took the girls to the basement, Lily quietly sat in her cage and watched the TV news and Frieda went back and forth between the two windows, yowling. See? Animals KNOW!

I was going to work out and let loose on my punching bag (Mm Hmm) but the sound freaked the girls out. M was out golfing but not in an area that was in the storm’s path so we didn’t worry about him too much (until he called and said he was driving home - yipes!).

Having watched all manner of horror story regarding hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and other natural disasters, I get a little edgy when those sirens go off.

(When I first-first moved here, I thought for sure the world was ending when at noon one Wednesday the sirens started ringing. M had neglected to tell me that they test those things every Wednesday at noon. Knowing me as you do, you can imagine that I was waiting for the giant horses to go galloping by, followed by other creepy Biblical stuff… a la “The Rapture.”)

WBNS-10TV, Central Ohio’s News Leader - Severe Thunderstorms - Viewer Pictures | August 25, 2007

* This isn’t too far from where we live:

* If the above image doesn’t show up, it’s because I deep-linked and it’s been moved. You can see the whole series at the above link - provided that hasn’t been moved too.