User talk:Will richer

Hello Former Student!

I'm writing to you because you took a class from me in the past few years at the Art Institute. As of Spring, 2010, I'll not be teaching further classes at AIS for the foreseeable future. (We're parting ways on good terms!) Until now, you've been able to reach my Wikiversity educational resources from my website, but I've decided to delete that link. You can still reach all of those materials here.

If you're interested in what I'm up to in the future (which will include an album in 2010 and a novel in 2011) you can friend my facebook page or drop me an email at info@stevenarntson.info and you'll receive a periodic update about performances, classes, and publications.

If you know any current or former students of mine who might be interested in any of this, please forward this information if you have a moment.

I hope all is well for you.
 * Best! Stevenarntson

Hello and welcome.--Juan de Vojníkov 21:21, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

This is a response to "Zombie Cat" by Will Richer.

Shel Silverstein was one of my favorite writers as I was growing up. I was always amazed at his ability to create different types of poems on many subjects while maintaining a whimsical style. Some of his poetry is very short, while other works are longer. His doodles that complimented the written verse were also very entertaining. He had a playful style fit for people of all ages to read (when thinking from a traditionally moralistic standpoint), but there was often a subtext of more adult themes. Will has captured this in his poem Zombie Cat with remarkable effectiveness. On the surface it is a funny poem expressing the wishes of a strange little boy. It contains no profanity or vulgarities (like Silverstein's work), but it's nature is a bit more adult. Zombies are a popular topic for horror and comedy writers, and like vampires, are monsters in human guise. most humans fear death in one way or another, which is why the zombie scares us. To be undead is a far worse fate than death itself. To be animated but not you. These mature themes are sown into a funny, and almost cute poem about a boy who wants an immortal pet. However as the poem continues, everything is not as it seems. The child is actually quite maladjusted and expresses no fear of his zombie cat infecting others, but rather relishes that idea. More cats for him to play with. In the final stanza we discover that the boy himself has no fear of being zombiefied... either because he is already a zombie, or he has no fear of becoming one.

Despite its dark undercurrent, the poem maintains its humor, which is no small feat considering that comedy is the hardest thing to write well. This is written quite well and the illustration is also a fantastic homage to Silverstein's style.

-Luc M.