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Archy and Mehitabel The now classic tale of Archy the cockroach and Mehitabel the cat in her ninth life First published in this free verse poem has become an essential part of American literature
The now classic tale of Archy the cockroach and Mehitabel the cat in her ninth life First published in 1927, this free verse poem has become an essential part of American literature.
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Don Marquis
hello everyonein case you haven t heard of memy name is archyi was a vers libre poetwho died and came back as a cockroachi used to pound out my poems on an old typewriterand someone called don marquis took them to the publishernow there are no typewritersand don marquis is deadi heard he reincarnated as a fruit batThe rest of this review is available elsewhere the location cannot be given for policy reasons
Archy and Mehitabel door motif from the Brooklyn Public Library
When newspapers were the dominant medium, were fun, and didn t take themselves so goddam seriously, there were great columnists.Don Marquis was one archy was his alter ego, a cockroach with the soul of a poet who threw himself on the typewriter keys to express his thoughts Hence no caps you can t throw yourself on the caps key and a letter key at the same time mehitabel was his unruly alley cat sidekick.Great fun, and occasionally wise The human race may be doing the best it can, boss, but that [...]
Don Marquis was a newspaper man from the early 20th Century who came up with this series of free verse poems about a cockaroach who s the reincarnation of a verse libre poet His comic and sad tales of life in the alley with Mehitabel the cat and an assorted cast of unsavory characters stands up over the years because the poetry makes you laugh and think and the personalities in the work are vivid and true.
Had I read the back of this book, I would have never read the book itself A cockroach that writes poems on a typewriter and his cat friend sounds insipid and revolting doesn t it However this book is a marvelous oddity which strays far away from cutesiness It s one of those works where the schtick doesn t take over the rest of the text Granted, this was never MEANT to be a book in the first place if I recall correctly this started out as something that showed up in newspapers.
Explaining who archy and mehitabel were is just too darn complex If you enjoy comic verse, do yourself a favor and get this book Actually, you can get a good start at this webpage donmarquis archy as it contains a number of Marquis poems and a fine introduction to this book.
Charming, surprising, funny and sad Where else will you find a mummy greet a cockroach as scatter legged scarab Supposedly this free verse was just filler for a columnist Ha It s also a big reminder of how much we used to expect from our newspaper readers I checked the dictionary than once.Good social commentary.
So many good ones, but a couple of my favorite poems the lesson of the mothi was talking to a moththe other eveninghe was trying to break intoan electric light bulband fry himself on the wireswhy do you fellowspull this stunt i asked himbecause it is the conventionalthing for moths or whyif that had been an uncoveredcandle instead of an electriclight bulb you wouldnow be a small unsightly cinderhave you no senseplenty of it he answeredbut at times we get tiredof using itwe get bored with the rou [...]
i forgot how much i loved you, archy, until i read you again what prompted my reading is silly, and so utterly appropriate yes, i typed without an apostrophe rueful at first, and then remembering youchy s origins from the first don marquis column that saved his job, his best introduction Dobbs Ferry posseses a rat which slips out of his lair at night and runs a typewriting machine in a garage Unfortunately, he has always been interrupted by the watchman before he could produce a complete story.I [...]
First appearing in 1927 Don Marquis and his clever free verse poem of Archy and Mehitabel, Archy the mad typist poet cockroach and his kitty friend Mehitabel who was Cleopatra in her past life entertain the reader and remain a classic in American literature So happy this was made available in digital format, always readily available to make me smile and chuckle endlessly Archy the lesson of the mothi was talking to a moththe other eveninghe was trying to break intoan electric light bulband fry h [...]
There is nothing I can say that the website donmarquis archy doesn t say better and completely Suffice to say that Archie was a vers libre poet in a previous existence and has been reincarnated as a cockroach Mehitabel is an alley cat with the morals of, well, an alley cat, who is convinced she was once Cleopatra and their adventures are as funny and fresh as they were when first published over 80 years ago in the USA It is gentle fun but with some sharp insights into the human condition.
my best girlfriend and i loved this when we were in high school archy is a cockroach who types by hopping from key to key on the typewriter, so he can t capitalize anything, and there are some punctuation marks he can t use mehitabel is his feline friend very clever and amusing.
I found it helpful to know that it is social commentary and newspaper space filler on daily life in the city during the 1910s and 1920s from a cockroach and a cat.
Some wonderful poems, and a few truly brilliant ones, in a really endearing premise.
this is part of my list of all time favorites I nver leave home without a copy A vers libre poet transmigrates into the body of a cockaroach and becomes the eyes and voice of the people through the perspective of a maligned insect he manages to continue his writings by butting his head onto each key of the typewriter that is at his disposal it is painstaking work and due to the difficulties in shifting and the mechanics of captalization, his work is sans uppercase and punctuation Along his way h [...]
This book is a compilation of the columns that Don Marquis wrote during the prohibition The main character is Archy, a cockroach who communicates by jumping on typewriter keys He writes stories about his life as a cockroach and his former life as a writer The other featured character is Mehitabel a female alley cat who bemoans many parts of her existence, but mostly the kittens that she never wanted to have Obviously everything must be a metaphor for something else as prohibition was a time of s [...]
I read about this book somewhere, and now wish I could remember where it was as it was such a remarkable little read i ve read numerous pieces of it aloud to whoever would listen, such is its cleverness Written as free verse through the eyes of Archy the cockroach and Mehitabel the cat, with many other creatures included I particularly loved the lesson of the moth We get bored with the routine and crave beauty and excitement fire is beautiful and we know that if we get too close it will kill us [...]
I m putting this is my read section, though I have not finished reading it, only because it no longer belongs in my currently reading section, as I am not reading it any longer I do not like it enough to finish it I was trying to persevere and see the humour and genius, but I only found it annoying and boring I do not care to read the word wotthehell again, especially not in the context of free verse poetry that is often made to rhyme I guess the philosophical musings of a flea are not for me.
The back cover copy claims this is a book of poetry and that it is art It is neither, but the conceit of a cockroach who writes about a snooty cat is fun Though the stories are uneven, some are wonderful fun A very few actually are poems, while the rest are just typed on the page like poetry George Herriman s illustrations are wonderful, and the reason to get this edition or another that has them There are extensive Shakespeare references on pages 75,92 3, 110, 115 9, 120 1, 125 7, 140, 159, and [...]
i don t know, this just might be my all time favorite book how can you resist the chronicles of a cock roach who types fervently and a house cat who thinks she is cleopatra re incarnated
Charming without ever being twee, and just so damn beautiful.
Oh yes so true, so bad and amazingly poetic.
An reviewer said Writers particularly journalists can go lifetimes without attaining such loose limbed grace, and I think that s a really well chosen description of his style loose limbed grace Perfect tone for his characters, but fresh, slangy, casual and formal in the same breath, and with an unusual combination of humor and melancholy floating around and within other like an expertly balanced chili passionfruit margarita.Archy is a cockroach who used to be a vers libre poet in a former life H [...]
I am very grateful to the friend or acquaintance who brought this book to my attention when I was a senior in high school I was, at the time, very earnestly reading my way through the works of Herman Hesse, delving into eastern philosophy and, in general, starving that side of me that craves laughter and fun archy and mehitabel restored my balance and reminded me that just because something is funny and ostensibly written by a cockroach doesn t mean it can t be profound It remains a favorite of [...]
A lovely little book that I squeezed in right at the end of the thon From what I understand, this semi poetry used to appear as columns in an American newspaper, and is purportedly written by Archy the cockroach, a former poet reborn in a lowly form As Archy typed this verse by jumping up and down on the keys of a typewriter, there are no punctuation or capital letters He couldn t reach the shift key.This volume is a collection of Archy s works, about his life as a poet turned cockroach and eme [...]
I flew through archy and mehitabel by Don Marquis Archy is a cockroach, and he types his poetry by hopping from key to key on the typewriter, so he s can t quite manage capital letters He s also not fond of punctuation Mehitabel is an alley cat who believes she is the reincarnated form of Cleopatra Don Marquis is the brilliant soul who was a journalist for The Evening Sun and began publishing the tales of Archy and Mehitabel in 1916 The poems are wickedly funny, with not a little satire sprinkle [...]
Just an outstanding book, and a direct ancestor of Calvin and Hobbes Very funny, but also touching, wise and literary, although I could have used Archy and less Mehitabel you want to knowwhether i believe in ghostsof course i do not believe in themif you had knownas many of them as i have you would not believe in the eithergods what a heart breaking pathosto be always doomed to the comico make me a cockroach entirelyor make me a human once give me the mind of a cockroach or give me the shape of [...]
I was surprised by my re reading I had read the book many, many years ago of Archy and company There seemed so much pathos in the work than before, or I brought of a world weariness to it Not to say at all that this is a morose work so, so much the contrary It s enlivened by wry humor everywhere, and has such jumps of personality and kooky expression in its characters language.Maybe it was just something in Archy s telling of Mehitabel s kind of long suffering can t you see I m a lady plaint t [...]
I love this bookIt s hard not to love the lyrics of Archy In fact, I would argue that he s probably one of the greatest poets the 21st century It might sound like heresy to say the cockroach is such an amazing poet, but , Archy captures the national consciousness He has so much to say about current events like the war, domestic life, traveling abroad Lyrics are so frenzied and crazy that most people probably would put this book down after the first couple of pages, but if you allow yourself to d [...]
If this was Archy rather than Archy and Mehitabel , I d love it I just can t seem to like Mehitabel who would ve thought I d like a cockroach than a cat I borrowed this from the library because I ve loved the lesson of the moth for a long time now certain maxims of archy is a close second if you get gloomy just take an hour off and sitand think howmuch better this world is than hellof course it won t cheeryou up much if you expect to go thereif monkey glandsdid restore your youthwhat would you [...]
Donald Robert Perry Don Marquis was a newspaper columnist as well as a playwright, novelist, and poet, best known for his Archy and Mehitabel free verse and his Old Soak anti Prohibition play.