Writer, Cat, Poetry Live

Just can't get away from those cats this week. Frank Key of Hooting Yard noted an old post that mentioned a portion of Christopher Smart's poem, Jubilante Agno, about his cat, Jeoffry. Key was kind enough to advise us that:

As an antidote to the usual Christmas fare, ResonanceFM is broadcasting a complete reading of Christopher Smart's "Jubilate Agno" on Thursday 27th December at 12 noon GMT.

Written between 1758 and 1763 when Smart was incarcerated in Mr Potter's private asylum in Bethnal Green, "Jubilate Agno" remained unpublished until 1939. A further edition in 1954 edited by W H Bond led to its recognition as one of the great eccentric masterpieces of English literature. The part of the poem beginning "For I will consider my cat Jeoffry" has been widely anthologised, but the work as a whole is less familiar.

The Resonance broadcast, all three hours of it, is a newly-recorded reading by Frank Key of the acclaimed Hooting Yard website and radio show, and by the unique spoken word performer Germander Speedwell.

The broadcast takes place at noon, UK time. You'll have to figure out the time difference for yourselves. I hope they make a recording available in an archive, because my grasp of time zones is quite slippery.