It’s the birthday of a number of interesting poets and authors, one of whom is Aleksandr Pushkin (1799-1837), considered Russia’s greatest poet. Pushkin had a turbulent political and personal life, living in exile for several years because of his political views, and his masterpiece, Evgeny Onegin (1833), features a character who dies in a duel—foreshadowing Pushkin’s own death. Pushkin married a beautiful woman, Natalya Goncharova, and wouldn’t you know it, even Nicholas I, Emperor of Russia, had a thing for her (so you know this isn’t going to end well). By then, un-exiled, Pushkin had a lot of social obligations at court and it was hard to get any writing done and he ended up in a duel over Natalya with some no-good Frenchman named George D’ Anthès-Heeckeren. (NB: Some editorializing here. But do *you* want to go down in history as the man who killed Pushkin? Badly done, George D’ Anthès-Heeckeren.) Pushkin was only 38 and yet he had practically reinvented Russian literature by his death.

Thought for the day: it’s one thing to die of lupus at the age of 39 (Flannery O’Connor) or even syphilis at the age of 46 (Baudelaire), but a duel at 38? Is that really necessary?

It’s also the birthday of children’s book author Cynthia Rylant (b. 1954), who is still living so it is not known whether she will die of injuries from a duel. Rylant, born in West Virginia, experienced a great deal of loss from a young age. Much of her childhood was spent with grandparents in Appalachia, where they had no running water, no electricity, and no books. Rylant fell in love with literature when she went to Morris Harvey College (now the University of Charleston), and after becoming a librarian she fell in love with children’s books specifically. The first book she wrote was When I Was Young in the Mountains (1979), based on her childhood; she has since gone on to write over 100 children’s books, including the Henry and Mudge series; the Poppleton series; the Mr. Putter and Tabby series; and many more.

In Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the Tea (1994), the first book of that series (which series is almost entirely devoid of children, and also of duels), Mr. Putter, lonely, goes to the pet store to buy a cat. He is horrified to find only kittens:

“Oh, no one wants cats, sir,” said the pet store lady. “They are not cute. They are not peppy.”

Mr. Putter himself had not been cute and peppy for a very long time.

He said, “I want a cat.”

“Then go to the shelter sir,” said the pet store lady. “You are sure to find a cat.”

Mr. Putter takes her advice and chooses Tabby, an elderly cat, and so begins their life together.

Have a lovely Wednesday in which all your gifts flourish and stay scrupulously honest to the data.