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 e...
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Oct 15, 2009
Manny
rated it: 
hello everyone
in case you haven t heard of me
my name is archy
i was a vers libre poet
who died and came back as a cockroach
i used to pound out my poems on an old typewriter
and someone called don marquis took them to the publisher
now there are no more typewriters
and don marquis is dead
i heard he reincarnated as a fruit bat
so i have been silent for many years
and my fans are starting to forget me
but the other day
i found i More...
in case you haven t heard of me
my name is archy
i was a vers libre poet
who died and came back as a cockroach
i used to pound out my poems on an old typewriter
and someone called don marquis took them to the publisher
now there are no more typewriters
and don marquis is dead
i heard he reincarnated as a fruit bat
so i have been silent for many years
and my fans are starting to forget me
but the other day
i found i More...
Jul 23, 2008
David
rated it: 
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 doi More...
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 doi More...
Jan 14, 2008
Adam
rated it:
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.
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Apr 18, 2008
Amy
rated it:
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 More...
Obviously everything must be a metaphor for something else as prohibition was More...
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Feb 03, 2008
Camilla
rated it: 
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 philosoph
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Aug 18, 2010
Ellen
rated it:
Archy is a cockroach with the soul of a poet, and Mehitabel is an alley cat with a celebrated past who claims she was Cleopatra in a previous life. I first discovered Archy in a high school literature book. Having always been impressed with the cockroach who could type (but only using lower-case letters, of course) I was thrilled many years later to acquire not only one, but two editions that were published before World War II. These yard-sale finds are treasures for my book shelves, ranked with
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Jan 08, 2010
pinknantucket
rated it: 
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 more 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-turn More...
This volume is a collection of Archy’s works, about his life as a poet-turn More...
Feb 02, 2008
Mark
rated it:
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.
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Aug 04, 2007
Kay
rated it:
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 -- http://www.donmarquis.com/archy/ -- as it contains a number of Marquis' poems and a fine introduction to this book.
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May 30, 2011
Jeanette
rated it:
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.
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Apr 27, 2011
Kathleen
rated it:
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 favo
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Jul 25, 2011
Jude
rated it:
Well, first ya gotta buy the concept, which is not entirely new. And then, as coherant cockroaches go, i am personally more likely to re-read this one than that heartbroken one Kafka gave us. That's not a lit'ry assessment, mind you.
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Dec 02, 2011
Kristianne
rated it:
This book absolutely charmed me. A book length poem written by Archy the cockroach and telling not only his own tale, but that of Mehitabel the cat, as well. At once a humerous account of the cat and cockroach's exploits and experiences, don marquis also studs the story with beautiful reflections about society and art. I especially loved the "archy hears from mars" and "mehitabel dances with boreas" chapters.
"freeze you bloody december
i never could stay a More...
"freeze you bloody december
i never could stay a More...
May 10, 2010
Mike
rated it:
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
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Jul 25, 2011
Rob
rated it: 
When I was a little kid we had two frogs in a terrarium: a tree frog named Archy and a bullfrog named Mehitabel. I'd always wondered about their namesakes, and it's astonishing that I waited nearly four decades to explore further.
I really wanted to like Archy & Mehitabel. Anything with such a strong connection to my early childhood really ought to be liked. Also, it's such a perfect fit for me: weird poetry written by a Blatella germanica with illustrations by the immortal George More...
I really wanted to like Archy & Mehitabel. Anything with such a strong connection to my early childhood really ought to be liked. Also, it's such a perfect fit for me: weird poetry written by a Blatella germanica with illustrations by the immortal George More...
Feb 21, 2011
Alex
rated it:
There is nothing I can say that the website (www.donmarquis.com/archy/) doesn't say better and more 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 hum
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Dec 04, 2010
Jennifer
rated it:
Though dated in places, this collection of Don Marquis' Archy & Mehitabel columns from the late teens - early twenties is also still a lot of fun. I should state right here that I have never been able to get much into poetry. It's kind of like jazz to me - I can admire a good piece, but as a whole, I find myself easily distracted. Yep, I know I'm probably missing some of the wonders of the world, and I regret this. Where I'm getting with this, is that for me to pick up a book of free verse p
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Dec 04, 2010
Ruth
rated it:
The first time I ever read about Archy the cockroach who writes free verse ("vers libre") because he's a human poet who died and came back reincarnated as a cockroach, I was hooked. This is hilarious! Don Marquis was a humorist/satirist who wrote a newspaper column back in about 1918 through 1922 in which Archy the Cockroach wrote free verse by butting his insect head onto each typewriter key...but because he couldn't work the shift key on the typewriter, there are no punctuation mar
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Jul 21, 2008
Henry
rated it:
This is a fun book and sometimes deeper than it seems. It is ostensibly written by a cockroach named archy. It's hard enough for a cockroach to type, but the shift key is beyond him so it's all written in lowercase. He doesn't bother with punctuation, either. In most ways, this is seriously light reading. On the other hand, there are occasions of serious philosophy. Still, It's hard to take a cockroach too seriously. It's fun and there are occasional gems. It's short enough that you can ge
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Dec 27, 2009
Jenna
rated it:
If this was "Archy" rather than "Archy and Mehitabel", I'd love it more. I just can't seem to like Mehitabel... who would've thought I'd like a cockroach more 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 sit
and think how
much better this world
is than h More...
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 sit
and think how
much better this world
is than h More...
Jul 25, 2011
Deborah
rated it:
I was excited to read this book after encountering E.B. White's introduction to it (in a collection of E.B. White's work), and still it managed to surpass my expectations.
The premise is that a cockroach is possessed by the transmigrated soul of a free verse poet named Archy, and Archy types poems every night in the office of a newspaper columnist (Don Marquis) by hopping and pounding each typewriter key with his head. Don Marquis first employed the Archy character in 1916. The colu More...
The premise is that a cockroach is possessed by the transmigrated soul of a free verse poet named Archy, and Archy types poems every night in the office of a newspaper columnist (Don Marquis) by hopping and pounding each typewriter key with his head. Don Marquis first employed the Archy character in 1916. The colu More...
Nov 23, 2007
Jem43
rated it:
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
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Apr 14, 2011
Goodreads 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.
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.
May 27, 2011
Rob
rated it:
A very enjoyable collection of "bite-sized" poems that is a good "pick up once in a while" book. I was first exposed to archy and mehitabel in high school but I found that the poems have much more resonance with the passing of years. The poems are written by "archy", a free verse poet in a past life who has been reincarnated as a philosophical cockroach. He writes by diving headfirst onto a typerwiter -- rendering capital letters and punctuation moot. He observes l
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Dec 04, 2010
Rob
rated it:
These poems are written by archy, a poet who recently died and has been reincarnated in the body of a cockroach. This is a funny premise, and Don Marquis does well in milking it for it’s comic potential. I found it easy to think of this work as Dr. Seuss drunk on adult literary allusion and philosophy. I especially enjoyed archy’s maxims. A couple of my favorites:
if you get gloomy just
take and hour off and sit
and think how
much better this world
is than hell
More...
if you get gloomy just
take and hour off and sit
and think how
much better this world
is than hell
More...
Sep 07, 2009
thewanderingjew
rated it:
This little commentary on the issues of the world could have been written today. It was hard for me to believe that the little anecdotes were written 80 years ago.
It is a wonderfully clever and humorous presentation of life's dilemmas using a cockroach and a cat as the main characters in an amazingly creative way. I loved it.
It is a wonderfully clever and humorous presentation of life's dilemmas using a cockroach and a cat as the main characters in an amazingly creative way. I loved it.
Dec 31, 2008
Punk
rated it:
Poetry. Archy's a cockroach with the soul of a vers libre poet, and Mehitabel's a cat who claims to be the reincarnation of Cleopatra. Archy uses a typewriter to composes poetry, but he can't reach the shift key.
The subject matter gets repetitive, but the poetry itself is fantastic -- free-flowing, jerky, unpunctuated prose with unpredictable linebreaks. I preferred the Archy poems over the Mehitabel ones and "archy hears from mars" was my absolute favorite. I also enjoyed More...
The subject matter gets repetitive, but the poetry itself is fantastic -- free-flowing, jerky, unpunctuated prose with unpredictable linebreaks. I preferred the Archy poems over the Mehitabel ones and "archy hears from mars" was my absolute favorite. I also enjoyed More...
Feb 10, 2010
Cindy
rated it:
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 more we used to expect from our newspaper readers. I checked the dictionary more than once.
Good social commentary.
Good social commentary.
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Jun 16, 2011
Betty
rated it:
I have loved Mehitabel & Archy ever since discovering them in high school.... am happy to have discovered this Kindle version of the book so they will always be close at hand. toujours gai! (sadly, I have discovered several of my favorites to be missing... dropping to 4 stars)
Jun 30, 2011
Kaethe
rated it:
A friend at work suggested this as one of her favorite books in the world. I didn't hate it, but I wasn't particularly amused or charmed, either. I thought the gimmick got old quickly. I suppose there are people who look at The Complete Calvin and Hobbes and tire of the kid thinking the tiger is real, too.
