Hello!! The Meditating Cat Zine is back with the launch of Issue 4, for Autumn 2022. We hope you enjoy reading. The Meditating Cat Zine thanks our readers for their continued support, and our contributors and the staff for making this issue possible in the first place. Special thanks goes to Sophia Lai, who created this issue's cover and its mascot cats, Maple Leaf Cat and Pumpkin Cat. Download:
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Caitlin Smith is a multidisciplinary surrealist completing her master’s degree at the University of Sunderland. Working at present as a freelance commissioner, with Cats Commissions, outside of her practice, Caitlin frequently is requested to draw portraits of humans and animals. Working with a plethora of mediums, Smith favours relief printmaking processes & painting, acrylic being her preferred choice. At present, her practice explores the figurative narrative of the internalised femme fatale conjuring fragmented paintings and prints. She strives to eradicate the unspoken autocracy and biased attitudes implemented within both society & the Arts, alongside prioritising inclusivity, and representation. Smith visually transcribes an outrageous oeuvre displaying themes of politics, societal taboos, and conflict.
By Howie Good (1) Strange how you arrive with no address in mind. Objects begin to misbehave, clocks to bend and stretch. And then a procession of pallbearers carrying empty coffins enters – creased, stained, stoop-shouldered. The century feels a lot longer than a hundred years. (2) Facebook announces a suicide prevention app. If the heart stops beating, it sends a text message that says, “I’m dead at x and y coordinates.” Emptiness is now, suddenly, a monument. And no one is sure why. (3) It’s good the children were asleep. We had a lot of time to be neurotic, my wings flapping, your dress like an ink blot. All the colors were unstable. After I prayed the way you said, not only did I get a better car, but it was also bright red. Howie Good is a poet and collagist on Cape Cod.
by Sharon Pan dapple water over broad shoulders the sunlight disappears and all there is a strike. pouring begins and a storm whirls. humid air brushing against exposed knees, soggy jacket hoodie, drenched in rainwater. amidst the park trees bushes splashed from bus wheels rolling against wet concrete. when you dream of summer–you don’t dream of rain. simply the sun. but today, it pours. the sky is weeping with joy, not sadness. umbrellas blown up in the wind flowers frolic and bathe in the puddles of rain what they consider a sea. the smell lingers. stronger than vinegar and a calming smell, peaceful. Sharon Pan is a Chinese-Canadian youth writer from Vancouver. She was the third-place winner in the youth category of Fiona Tinwei Lam’s poetry contest. The poem is published in Ricepaper Magazine. When not writing, she can be found reading classic literature, looking at ancient history, and sleeping.
by Sharon Pan the world runs with its artificial system with humans, running around automated like robots. no emotions sprout from their faces, blank like homework pages. there isn’t a singular thing out of the ordinary even the word ordinary is normal. car wheels roll on streets, people pushing shopping carts in cold grocery store aisles. how frequent can you wash your hands until you burn off the nerves from your skin? will laughter turn into mourning for the dead. a set of instructions, programmed into everyone to live normally in a social hierarchy. to tend to farms or gardens, and raise children or go to school with endless hours. the definition of beauty is complicated and a set of rules like codes. codes that the brain is familiar with a moment of judgement to meet the definition. but beauty is hardly one definition but multiple. an infinite meaning, that minds like these can’t comprehend. Sharon Pan is a Chinese-Canadian youth writer from Vancouver. She was the third-place winner in the youth category of Fiona Tinwei Lam’s poetry contest. The poem is published in Ricepaper Magazine. When not writing, she can be found reading classic literature, looking at ancient history, and sleeping.
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Photos used under Creative Commons from France1978, JarleR, Raed Mansour, Ruben Holthuijsen, L a r a -