What would famous writers and activists say about the chicken crossing the road? In 1995, when the internet was new, my love interest forwarded a dozen such jokes to me. They were funny, yet not very diverse; one woman and no authors of color? I made my own list, according to what I was studying; Latin American and Spanish literature. Here they are, in slightly modified form:
WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD?
Famous Authors and Activists Version
(any resemblance to comments these authors and activists might make is pure fiction…)
Amy Tan: The chicken crossed the road to bring joy and luck to her mah johngg club.
Alice Walker: The chicken crossed the road singing the blues to honor the color purple on the other side.
Ellen DeGeneres: Why? That’s easy. The chicken crossed the road to meet her wife on the other side.

¿Por qué cruzó el camino el pollo?
Miguel de Cervantes:
Don Quijote says: The chicken galloped across the road to save a fair damsel on the other side.
Sancho Panza says: The aroma of a savory meal drew the chicken across the road.
Isabel Allende: The mythical stories of her chicken foremothers captivated her imagination and as she ventured to the other side the chicken pledged to create a road story of her own.
Elizabeth Acevedo: The chicken crossed the road to say hello to her sister chicken and give her a peck on the cheek. She knows touch is important.
Gabriel García Márquez: The chicken did not cross the road, but was transported magically on the backs of 100 blue butterflies to the other side.
Clarice Lispector: The road was a mirror for the chicken, in which she saw herself as she crossed, and realized what it was to be a chicken.
Pablo Neruda: Chicken, I like when you are quiet, and it’s as if you are absent, like you have crossed the road.
Ernesto Cardinal: The liberation of this chicken, who now can walk freely to the other side of the road, is symbolic of our work through Christ to liberate all.
Rosario Castellanos: The chicken, realizing the yoke under which it lived, decided to struggle, and the beginning of that struggle was the day she crossed the road.
Simón Bolívar: The chicken fought hard for her independence to cross the road. Now she will build her nation.
Jorge Luís Borges: The chicken did not cross one road, but many serpentine, labyrinth-like roads, searching for the one that held the secret of existence and she was never seen again. She left behind a diary of chicken scratches, which I work to translate day and night.
Glossary:
Amy Tan: Chinese American Writer of the Joy Luck Club.
Alice Walker: Pulitzer Prize Winning African American writer of The Color Purple.
Ellen DeGeneres: Lesbian activist and comedian in the US, hosts the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra: Author of Don Quijote, the first Spanish novel.
Isabel Allende: Chilean American writer of House of the Spirits.
Elizabeth Acevedo: Dominican American poet and author of Clap When You Land.
Gabriel García Márquez: Colombian writer of 100 Years of Solitude.
Clarice Lispector: Brazilian author of Woman Between Mirrors.
Pablo Neruda: Chilean poet, writer of 20 Love Poems and a Song of Despair.
Ernesto Cardinal: Nicaraguan Catholic priest and poet dedicated to Liberation Theology.
Rosario Castellanos: Mexican author of Balún Canán.
Simón Bolívar: Liberator of many Spanish colonies in the early 1800s.
Jorge Luís Borges: Argentine Writer of Ficciones (Fictions).
What would your favorite activist or author say about the chicken crossing the road?
¡Olé! –Rebecca
Lol! Too funny! ❤
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Thanks, Carol Anne! Glad you liked them. xo
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LOL.
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Thank you, Rosaliene!
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Oh what a haul you have here! I can’t add to this wonderfully diverse collection.
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Thank you, Margaret. Who are a few of your favorite writers?
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This post is like a master class in chicken & egg lore. Brilliant! Best, Babsje
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I appreciate that, Babsje! Who is your favorite writer or activist?
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That’s a tough one, Rebecca. It’s fluid and depends on mood and generation. Today I’d say Simone de Beauvoir and Dorothy Parker, but next week? Subject to change. Best, Babsje
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Oh and Jane Goodall. Can’t omit Jane!!
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Yes, Jane Goodall is wonderful. She has a great story about her first nature observation, of a chicken laying an egg. (On the same side of the road 😉
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Oh that is too perfect, thanks Rebecca.
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I had to pick up a birthday card for a dear friend and chose 2: water color paintings of a gorgeous Rooster and of a lovely bunch of Sunflowers. I had decided on the quirky Rooster but at the last minute I chickened out – pun intended – and gave Margie the sunflowers and kept the Rooster for myself. 🐔
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Why did the rooster cross the road? “The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.” -Dorothy Parker
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Excellent! Thanks
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Albert Camus would have said that the chicken crossed the road into the absurd.
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Thank you, good addition!
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This is hilarious!
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Thank you very much! My husband chortled when I showed it to him, the revised version, it was he in 1995 as well. 😉
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Too clever! The accuracy of what each writer would say is too good!
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Thank you, Rebecca! I appreciate that very much. I had a lot of fun writing the jokes.
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Well done, the Neruda one is genius.
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Thanks very much, Kim.
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