MRS. SCROOGE

I love podcasts. One of my favorites is “Front Row Highlights” on the BBC. It is about an hour long, and covers the arts. I have discovered many different people/books/music/theater by listening to this podcast. And last year I discovered a version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL in a new medium.

“Mrs. Scrooge” is a poem by Carol Ann Duffy, who was made the UK Poet Laureate in 2009. Just hearing that a serious poet had tackled my favorite story made me seek out a copy, which I found in the guise of a small hardcover.

Mrs. Scrooge is Ebenezer’s widow. She is an environmentalist who pickets Marley’s grocery store to bring attention to the inhumane treatment of turkeys. She wears layers and uses candles (“darkness is cheap and Mrs. Scrooge liked it”, almost a direct quote from Dickens.) Her cat is named Cratchit. One night she is visited by three ghosts. The Ghost of Christmas Past shows her her courtship with Scrooge. The Ghost of Christmas Present. . .

I’m not going to tell you. Read this lovely poem here. What do you think? Does this modern homage hit you the way it hit me? Don’t you love the ending? The poem could live on its own, but the Dickensian characters and allusions add a layer of depth. I love this version.