Fe-lines : French cat poems through the ages / collected and translated with an introduction by Norman R. Shapiro ; illustrated by Olga Pastuchiv.

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The French have long had a love affair with the cat, expressed through centuries of poetry portraying the animal's wit and wonder. Norman R. Shapiro lionizes the felines' limitless allure in this one-of-a-kind collection. Spanning centuries and styles, he draws on she-cats and toms, and an honor roll of French poets, well known and lesser known, who have served as their devoted champions. He reveals the remarkable range of French cat poems, with most works presented here for the first time in English translation. Scrupulously devoted to evoking the meaning and music of the originals, Shapiro also respects the works' formal structures. Pairing his translations with Olga Pastuchiv's elegant illustrations, Fe-Lines guides the reader through the marvels and inscrutabilities of the Mystique feline.

Cover; Title Page; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgments; Introduction; The Translations; [French nursery rhyme] Gray Kitty-Cat; Of the Cat, the Field Mouse, and the House Mouse or The Cat Who Played Bishop; The Cat and the Mice; Of a Cat and a Cock; The Cat Turned Woman; Epitaph for a Cat; On Mme Deshoulières's Cat; The Eagle, the Wild Sow, and the Cat; The Cat and an Old Rat; The Cat, the Weasel, and the Little Rabbit; For Monseigneur le Duc de Bourgogne; Letter from Tata; Grisette's Reply to Tata; The Cat and the Cricket; Of the Cat and the Fox; Of the Mice and the Cat.

The Cat and the MonkeysThe Lady-Cat and Her Little Ones; The Gods of Egypt; The Fox and the Cat; The Ant and the Cat; The She-Ape and the Young She-Cat; The Child and the Cat; The Two Cats and the Mouse; The Little She-Pup and the Cat; The Cat and the Steeple-Cock; The Mother Cat and Her Little One; The Two Old She-Cats; The Child and the Cat; The Cat and the Rat; The Ape and the Cat; The Little Miss and the Kitty-Cat; The Cat and the Sparrow; The Cat and the Mirror; The Two Cats; The Owl, the Cat, the Gosling, and the Rat; The Cat and the Dog; The Dog and the Cat.

The Cat and His African RelativesThe Cat and the Cook; The Cat, the Rat, and the Idol; The Housewife and the Mouse; The Dog and the Cat; The Cat; The Cat; Cats; The Clock; To My She-Cat Coquette; To My He-Cat Gaspard; My Grandmamma's Old Cat; Happiness; Childhood; The Household Sprites; Sensitivity; The Cat and the Bat; The Cat and the Young Bird; The Death of the Cat; To a Lady-Cat; Lullaby; Woman and Cat; The Ballad of the Cats; Cat Sketch; The Cat; Study in Cat; The Pussycat; The Brown Mouse; Sonnet; Yes, I Would Sing Cats' Praise; In Memory of a Dwarf Cat I Once Had.

The Cockerel, the Cat, and the Little MousePantoum; The Moon; The She-Cat and the Kittens; The Little Cat; The Black Cat; The Cats' Milk; Allusion; Kiki; Song of the Sleeping Cat; Black Cat; Song of the Gray Cat; Persian Cat; The Feline; Insomnia; The Cat of Doom; The Cats; The Cat; Wild Cat; Cat; Cat; Rooftop Cat; Blue and White; Cat and Sun; December Eve; The Ape and the Cat; Cat's unlike anything, they say . . .; The Cat and the Bird; On Cat; Little Fable of the Mouse; The Bourgeois Cat; Fafou; During the summer of 1983 at Haut Bout . . .; The Little White Cat; Cats; The Cat's Prayer.

The Pussycat RevelMargot, Dear Lass; Slaves; Figaro; Cliché Cat; Summoned from Everywhere!; The Flea and the Cat; The Mice and the Cat-Lutenist; The Cat and the Mirror; The Two Kittens; The Cat and the Moon; Cats, Screech-Owls, Poets; The She-Cat's Reflection; Puss Revels; Mamma-Cat; The First Cat; The Cats, the Kittens, and the Dog; The Cats' Development; The She-Rat and the Scrawny Cat; Drama in Two Acts; The Evening Breeze; She-Cat; Halloween 2006; The Cat; Kochka; Félicité; A Soul; The Originals; Un Petit Chat gris; Du Chat, du Mulet et de la Souriz alias Du Cat ki se fist Vesque.

Includes bibliographical references.

Text in English and French.

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