Athwart July (and August)

“Mark Addison Kershaw, like the greatest of cartoonists (and there should be a better collective noun than cartoonists, which does not nearly suffice) stands at a certain remove from the quotidian. Vis-à-vis the quotidian, Addison demands a preposition, or adverb, such as athwart. He and his cartoons, and the quotidian, run wildly athwart.”—Elizabeth Boleman-Herring

Addison

By Mark Addison Kershaw

ATLANTA Georgia—(Weekly Hubris)—1 July 2021—Editor’s Note: Mark Addison Kershaw, like the greatest of cartoonists (and there should be a better collective noun than “cartoonists,” which does not nearly suffice) stands at a certain remove from the quotidian. Vis-à-vis the quotidian, Addison demands a preposition, or adverb, such as “athwart.” He and his cartoons, and the quotidian, run wildly athwart. Regarding the meaning of athwart, here’s a line from Coleridge to ponder: “But oh ! that deep romantic chasm which slanted/Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover !” And, from somewhere in vast Wikipedia, consider: “Worn in the side-to-side athwart style during the 1790s, the bicorne was normally seen fore-and-aft in most armies and navies from about 1800 on.” Do you catch my drift? There is nothing, nothing quotidian about Addison and his cartoonery. So step away and apart this July, and accompany Addison . . .  down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover.