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Dr. Seuss

Some Dr. Seuss trivia:

*There's a new biography out. Adam Gopnik, reviewing the book in the NYT, says that Seuss started strong and ended weak. In other words, the old books are better than the newer ones.

*Gopnik suggests that, in his early work, Seuss conveyed a sense of devil-may-care breeziness. The stakes didn't seem terribly high. But, as Seuss advanced, and his reputation grew, he felt a need to be profound. To Make Statements. Paradoxically, the early works--where there was no obvious effort to Make a Statement--do in fact make the most successful statements.

*Gopnik cites as a Major Achievement Seuss's introduction of Thing One and Thing Two in "Cat and the Hat." He says these characters have a "meta" quality. A work becomes meta when it comments on itself. And, with Thing One and Thing Two, Seuss *does* seem to be drawing attention to the artifice in the story. I also love that Seuss--working with easily decoded one-syllable words--recognized all the potential in the word "Thing." A "Thing" can be a deus ex machina. A "Thing" can be a femme fatale. There are no limits.

*I think there are cousins of "Thing One" in "One Fish Two Fish." That fish book is truly a work without a plot. It's audacious. As Seuss pursues whatever streak of mania he has envisioned, he just keeps throwing in more and more creatures. The writer is exuberant, so you become exuberant, as well.

*I'm a little bit obsessed with the opening of "One Fish Two Fish," because I tend to dwell on the darkness in life, and Seuss provides a reminder that a great deal is enjoyable. Also, I think the opening is perfectly structured. Seuss introduces an array of bizarre characters: "This fish has a car. This fish has a star. This fish has a little hat. Some are mad, some are glad, some are very, very bad." All of this evidence builds up to a crisp, unassailable conclusion: "From there to here, from here to there....funny things are everywhere." Who could disagree?

*I think, also, that Dr. Seuss maybe had an impact on Howard Ashman. When Ashman goes on his crazy rants--"feathers and monkeys! servants and flunkies!" and "beef ragout! cheese souffle! pie and pudding en flambe!"--it's hard for me *not* to hear an echo of Seuss's "one fish! two fish! red fish! blue fish! old fish! new fish! black fish! blue fish!" Food for thought!

P.S. What might have been the genesis of "One Fish Two Fish"? Realizing that the word "fish" is the same whether it's singular or plural. Just some speculation.

P.P.S. Gopnik's piece on Seuss: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/07/books/review/brian-jay-jones-becoming-dr-seuss.html

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