Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
new york, doubleday, doran, 1940.
Description
Of all the literary genres, humor has the shortest shelf life--except for Archy and Mehitabel, that is. First published in 1916, it is a classic of American literature. Archy is a cockroach, inside whom resides the soul of a free-verse poet; he communicates with Don Marquis by leaping upon the keys of the columnist's typewriter. In poems of varying length, Archy pithily describes his wee world, the main fixture of which is Mehitabel, a devil-may-care alley cat.
User reviews
LibraryThing member michaelm42071
This is the omnibus edition of the three books, archy & mehitabel (1927), archys life of mehitabel (1933), and archy does his part (1935), first collected in 1935, with White’s introduction added in the 1950 edition.
Mehitabel says “every time i go in for / a platonic friendship / it turns out
Archy has a number of themes that keep recurring. One is his need for self-expression; he believes that his soul once inhabited a vers libre poet before he transmigrated into a cockroach. Another is that human beings keep messing up wonderful civilizations and natural settings, so that cockroaches, ants, and other such creatures will eventually inherit it all (“what the ants are saying”). His point of view, he admits, is skewed: “i see things from / the under side” (‘ballade of the under side”). He can be a pretty acerbic observer; for example, he says “a man who is so dull / that he can learn only by personal experience / is too dull to learn / anything important by experience” (“archy on this and that”). Archy is a flâneur, a boulevardier who can go anywhere. He can always, as he says, go into a restaurant and drop into a beef stew “for a warm bath and a bite to eat.” He has the ultimate satiric spy perspective; he isn’t a fly on the wall but a cockroach on the baseboard.
Archy is a wannabe revolutionary. “archy declares war” begins “i am going to start / a revolution” and Archy vows here to organize the insects in a revolt unless they get better treatment from humans. He declares he has started a union called the Worms Turnverein. He returns to this theme often. In “the return of archy” he says
you thought i was only
an archy
but i am more than that
i am anarchy
He goes on to say he’s been organizing the insects, and there are other poems with titles such as “archy turns revolutionist.”
Archy quotes Horace’s ode that begins “eheu fugaces [Postume, Postume, labuntur anni] in “a roach of the taverns.” And there are lots of words that sent me to the dictionary (edacity, corybantic).
Archy and Mehitabel take note of the news and fashions, talking about Prohibition and its repeal, the Depression, Tutankhamen, reincarnation, vers libre, labor/management problems and strikes.
Mehitabel says “every time i go in for / a platonic friendship / it turns out
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plutonic,” but in fact her friendships are rarely platonic, and that’s why “life is just one damn kitten after another.” But she likes life on the town, in the cafés (she was dubbed “Puss café” early in life) and out on the fences and the garbage cans. Even at the worst of times, when she has to keep dancing to avoid freezing (“mehitabel dances with boreas”), her response is always “wotthehell” and “toujours gai” and “cheerio my deario,” “there’s a dance or two in the old dame yet,” and “ours is the zest of the alley cat.” Archy has a number of themes that keep recurring. One is his need for self-expression; he believes that his soul once inhabited a vers libre poet before he transmigrated into a cockroach. Another is that human beings keep messing up wonderful civilizations and natural settings, so that cockroaches, ants, and other such creatures will eventually inherit it all (“what the ants are saying”). His point of view, he admits, is skewed: “i see things from / the under side” (‘ballade of the under side”). He can be a pretty acerbic observer; for example, he says “a man who is so dull / that he can learn only by personal experience / is too dull to learn / anything important by experience” (“archy on this and that”). Archy is a flâneur, a boulevardier who can go anywhere. He can always, as he says, go into a restaurant and drop into a beef stew “for a warm bath and a bite to eat.” He has the ultimate satiric spy perspective; he isn’t a fly on the wall but a cockroach on the baseboard.
Archy is a wannabe revolutionary. “archy declares war” begins “i am going to start / a revolution” and Archy vows here to organize the insects in a revolt unless they get better treatment from humans. He declares he has started a union called the Worms Turnverein. He returns to this theme often. In “the return of archy” he says
you thought i was only
an archy
but i am more than that
i am anarchy
He goes on to say he’s been organizing the insects, and there are other poems with titles such as “archy turns revolutionist.”
Archy quotes Horace’s ode that begins “eheu fugaces [Postume, Postume, labuntur anni] in “a roach of the taverns.” And there are lots of words that sent me to the dictionary (edacity, corybantic).
Archy and Mehitabel take note of the news and fashions, talking about Prohibition and its repeal, the Depression, Tutankhamen, reincarnation, vers libre, labor/management problems and strikes.
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LibraryThing member annbury
Three Archy and Mehitabel books in a 1940 omnibus edition, with the illustrations by George Herriman. The point of Archy and Mehitabel for me has always been Mehitabel -- the indomitable cat who deals with endless reverses of fortune, and with the major consequences of minor misteps (just one
with babs knows what and babs knows why".
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damned kitten after another), but remains toujours gai, toujours gai. (I inherited this book from my mother, who loved it dearly, and may have overidentified with Mehitabel). But there is much more to Archy and Mehitabel than one proto-feminist cat. It captures an era that in some ways feels as distant as colonial days; it is fiction written in eminently readable verse (not a easy trick), and it has those great illustrations. Also, this volume has one of the great dedications of all times: "dedicated to babswith babs knows what and babs knows why".
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LibraryThing member Auntie-Nanuuq
This has been in my TBR for over 15 years and I figured that as I'm home and need a break from cleaning, organizing, & moving furniture that I'd take the time to read it... Also I haven't been to the Library in about a week, so I'm out of my current interests.
Archy is a cockroach (who in another
Archy has a friend, Mehitabel, an stray cat who in a previous life was Cleopatra. Archy write a lot about his friendship w/ Mehitable and her life as well as writing about rats, other insects, people, and other cats.
I'm not going to say that I "liked" this, but considering when it was written it is extremely clever & entertaining.... Therefore the number of stars.
Archy is a cockroach (who in another
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life was a famous poet) that writes poetry & a journal of sorts..... he does this by using a typewriter, jumping on the keys in order to strike a letter. Because he is only able to hit one key at a time, there is not punctuation or capital letters used in his prose.Archy has a friend, Mehitabel, an stray cat who in a previous life was Cleopatra. Archy write a lot about his friendship w/ Mehitable and her life as well as writing about rats, other insects, people, and other cats.
I'm not going to say that I "liked" this, but considering when it was written it is extremely clever & entertaining.... Therefore the number of stars.
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LibraryThing member kylekatz
This collection of verse libre, purportedly by a cockroach named archy, is a delightful time piece from the 20s, with excellent illustrations by George Herriman of 'Krazy Kat' fame.
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1916
Physical description
196, 182, 269 p.; 21 cm