Jo Ellen Bogart

Version by W.H. Auden:

Pangur, white Pangur, How happy we are
Alone together, scholar and cat
Each has his own work to do daily;
For you it is hunting, for me study.
Your shining eye watches the wall;
My feeble eye is fixed on a book.
You rejoice, when your claws entrap a mouse;
I rejoice when my mind fathoms a problem.
Pleased with his own art, neither hinders the other;
Thus we live ever without tedium and envy.

The White Cat and the Monk is a wonderful retelling of the classic Old Irish poem “Pangur Bán” from which the above text was translated by W.H. Auden. The narration of Jo Ellen Bogart is simple and Sydney Smith’s classically inspired images are breathtaking. This is a contemplative and quiet picture book about enjoying the pleasure of animals, nature, art, and God. Highly recommended.… (more)