Among the resolutions I've announced for this year - along with reading more Shakespeare and spending less time online - is to ice skate twice a week. This is already proving to be a bold and courageous decision. I will not go into the embarrassing (and painful) details of my experience today at the Class of 1923 Rink but will assert that I plan to be there at noon again on Friday - if anyone dares to join me.
More interesting, though, is the curiosity this raises about ice skating in literature. What skating scenes do you remember? The first image to come to my mind was of the great frozen Thames in Orlando, the elaborate skating parties there, and Orlando's passionate skate with Sasha. Not surprisingly, an internet search turned up this list of literary skating, courtesy of The Guardian.
When I searched online images at the Rosenbach, several prints came up, all of which use skating to poke fun at their subjects. I wonder if there is any mention of skating in Shakespeare?
Loved Orlando - may be time to read it again!
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