{"id":8187,"date":"2018-10-10T19:06:50","date_gmt":"2018-10-10T19:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.repeatright.com\/engine\/?p=8187"},"modified":"2018-10-10T19:06:50","modified_gmt":"2018-10-10T19:06:50","slug":"kerr-jean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.repeatright.com\/engine\/kerr-jean\/","title":{"rendered":"KERR, Jean"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453315804311{margin-top: -40px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1449531588223-e020d87d-f7dd094f-cf635381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cA lawyer is never entirely comfortable with a friendly divorce, any more than a good mortician wants to finish the job and then have the patient sit up on the table.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Jean Kerr<\/strong>, American author & playwright<\/p>\n

Mary, Mary<\/em> (1960) Script, Act I; New York: Dramatists Play Service, Inc., 1965 revised ed., p. 33<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1449531588755-96303790-852e094f-cf635381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong> [Play dialogue – character \u2018Oscar\u2019 to \u2018Bob\u2019 & \u2018Mary\u2019]:<\/p>\n

\u201cOSCAR. (Crosses <\/em>U.R.C., eyeing them both<\/em>.) Please don\u2019t be embarrassed on my account. I\u2019m delighted. I hate a friendly divorce. A lawyer is never entirely comfortable with a friendly divorce, any more than a good mortician wants to finish the job and then have the patient sit up on the table.<\/span>\u201d (p. 33)\u201d<\/p>\n

Source note<\/em><\/strong>: Jean Kerr\u2019s Mary, Mary<\/em> opened at the Helen Hayes Theatre in New York City on March 8, 1961. In this first production, the character \u2018Oscar Nelson\u2019 was played by actor John Cromwell.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source ID” tab_id=”1449531589797-29580b31-8c50094f-cf635381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

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Source<\/em><\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0Library \u2013 Mary, Mary<\/em> (1960|1965 Dramatists Play Service ed.) Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) No. 1954782<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315829087-ce67c619-0fbc5381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cB<\/strong>eing divorced is like being hit by a Mack truck. If you live through it, you start looking very carefully to the right and to the left.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Jean Kerr<\/strong>, American author & playwright<\/p>\n

Mary, Mary<\/em> (1960) Script, Act I; New York: Dramatists Play Service, Inc., 1965 revised ed., p. 19<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1453315829475-7c82a017-1e625381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong> [Play dialogue – character \u2018Mary\u2019 to \u2018Oscar\u2019]:<\/p>\n

\u201cMARY. (Still not located in space<\/em>.) Well, being divorced is like being hit by a Mack truck. If you live through it, you start looking very carefully to the right and to the left.<\/span> While I was looking I noticed that I was the only twenty-eight-year-old girl wearing a polo coat and no lipstick. (Puts her gloves on table<\/em> c.)\u201d<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source ID” tab_id=”1453315829682-63e8fade-cf4c5381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

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Source<\/strong><\/em><\/span>: Library \u2013 Mary, Mary<\/em> (1960|1965 Dramatists Play Service ed.) Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) No. 1954782Library \u2013 Mary, Mary<\/em> (1960|1965 Dramatists Play Service ed.) Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) No. 1954782<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453316221301{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315828001-b5e2e52e-ea1e5381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cI feel about airplanes the way I feel about diets. It seems to me that they are wonderful things for other people to go on.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Jean Kerr<\/strong>, American author & playwright<\/p>\n

\u201cGo Josephine in Your Flying Machine\u201d (1960) McCall\u2019s magazine, reprint in The Snake Has All the Lines<\/em>, New York, NY: Crest Books, March 1962 edition, p. 28; online via Open Library [free subscription service], openlibrary.org<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1453315828385-86abfac4-79bf5381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong> [Essay \u2013 Opening lines]:<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel about airplanes the way I feel about diets. It seems to me that they are wonderful things for other people to go on.<\/span> When a friend of mine decides to fly to Milwaukee, I drive her out to La Guardia with marvelous calm and equanimity. I am positively light-hearted in the knowledge that she will receive loving, tender care and arrive with every curl intact.\u201d (p.28)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1453315828572-dac97b48-68e05381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

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Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0The Snake Has All the Lines<\/em> (1960|Mar. 1962 Crest Books ed.) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/snakehasalllines00kerr#page\/28\/mode\/2up\/search\/diets<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1449531591105-7edf5f39-feaa094f-cf635381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cI\u2019m tired of all this nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep. That\u2019s deep enough. What do you want \u2013 an adorable pancreas?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Jean Kerr<\/strong>, American author & playwright<\/p>\n

\u201cMirror, Mirror on the Wall, I don\u2019t Want to Hear One Word Out of You\u201d (1960) Ladies\u2019 Home Journal, reprint in The Snake Has All the Lines<\/em>, New York, NY: Crest Books, March 1962 edition, p. 122; online via Open Library [free subscription service], openlibrary.org<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1449531591631-43861bc7-da28094f-cf635381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong> [Essay \u2013 Opening lines]:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m tired of all this nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep. That\u2019s deep enough. What do you want \u2013 an adorable pancreas?<\/span> Personally, I find that it\u2019s work, work, work just trying to keep this top half inch in shape.\u201d (p. 122)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1449531592891-f39e055b-a66e094f-cf635381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

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Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>: Library \u2013 The Snake Has All the Lines<\/em> (1960|Mar. 1962 Crest Books ed.) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/snakehasalllines00kerr#page\/122\/mode\/2up\/search\/diets<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453316221301{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315828001-b5e2e52e-ea1e5381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cMan is the only animal that learns by being hypocritical. He pretends to be polite and then, eventually, he becomes <\/em>polite.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Jean Kerr<\/strong>, American author & playwright<\/p>\n

Finishing Touches<\/em> (1972) Script, Act I, Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1974, p. 24; online via Open Library [free subscription service], openlibrary.org<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1453315828385-86abfac4-79bf5381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong> [Play dialogue \u2013 \u2018Jeff\u2019 to \u2018Katy\u2019 & \u2018Kevin.\u2019 In the excerpt below, Kerr is referring to an idea from poet W.H. Auden, but not quoting him directly.]:<\/p>\n

“JEFF: Kevin, say good-bye to your mother and, if you can manage it, me. Remember what Auden says. Man is the only animal that learns by being hypocritical. He pretends to be polite and then, eventually, he becomes<\/em> polite.<\/span>\u201d (p. 24)<\/p>\n

Source note<\/em><\/strong>: Jean Kerr\u2019s play Finishing Touches<\/em> first opened at the Plymouth Theatre in New York City on February 8, 1973. In this initial production, the character \u2018Jeff Cooper\u2019 was played by actor Robert Lansing.<\/p>\n

[Source<\/em>: Jean Kerr, Finishing Touches<\/em> (1972) Dramatists Play Service, Inc., 2002 ed., p. 3]<\/span><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1453315828572-dac97b48-68e05381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

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Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0Finishing Touches<\/em> (1972| 1974 Doubleday & Co.) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/finishingtouches00kerr#page\/24\/search\/only+animal+that+learns<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1449531591105-7edf5f39-feaa094f-cf635381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cNow the thing about having a baby \u2013 and I can\u2019t be the first person to have noticed this \u2013 is that thereafter you have<\/em> it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Jean Kerr<\/strong>, American author & playwright<\/p>\n

Please Don\u2019t Eat the Daisies<\/em> (1957) New York: Crest Books, 2nd Crest printing, February 1959, introduction, p. 15; online via Open Library [free subscription service] openlibrary.org<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1453315828385-86abfac4-79bf5381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong> [Essay \u2013 italics original to cited text]:<\/p>\n

\u201cNow the thing about having a baby \u2013 and I can\u2019t be the first person to have noticed this \u2013 is that thereafter you have<\/em> it<\/span>, and it\u2019s years before you can distract it from any elemental need by saying, \u201cOh, for heaven\u2019s sake, go look at television.\u201d (p. 15)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1449531592891-f39e055b-a66e094f-cf635381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

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Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>: Library \u2013 Please Don\u2019t Eat the Daisies<\/em> (1957) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/pleasedonteatdai00kerr#page\/14\/mode\/2up\/search\/thereafter<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453316221301{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315828001-b5e2e52e-ea1e5381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cThe real menace in dealing with a five-year-old is that in no time at all you begin to sound like a five-year-old.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~Jean Kerr<\/strong>, American author & playwright<\/p>\n

\u201cHow to Get the Best in Your Children\u201d (1957) Please Don\u2019t Eat the\u00a0<\/em>Daisies<\/em>, New York, NY: Crest Books, 2nd Crest printing, February 1959, p. 116; online via Open Library[free subscription service] openlibrary.org<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1453315828385-86abfac4-79bf5381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong> [Essay]:<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother distressing aspect of disciplining young children is that somehow you are always left with the flat end of the dialogue \u2013 a straight man forever. It\u2019s not just that you feel idiotic. The real menace in dealing with a five-year-old is that in no time at all you begin to sound like a five-year-old.<\/span>\u201d (p. 116)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1453315828572-dac97b48-68e05381-89e5486b-50b8″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

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Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>: Library \u2013 Please Don\u2019t Eat the Daisies<\/em> (1957) online via Open Library [free subscription service]: https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/pleasedonteatdai00kerr#page\/116\/mode\/2up\/search\/graspe<\/a><\/p>\n

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Resources<\/h4>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css_animation=”none” el_class=”Wrapper-Author-Resources”]Learn more about Jean Kerr\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>| Here are a few good places to start –<\/p>\n