Yowl: Selected Poems About Cats

by Ferris Cook

A collection of poems celebrating the joys of felines, from cuddly kittens to tomcats. The book is an uplifting anthology of modern verse that addresses love, friendship and the unique relationship that forms between every cat lover and his or her pet.

Ferris Cook's touching and amusing charcoal drawings of cats accompany each poem, and the book features the work of Langston Hughes, John Kcats, Rainer Maria Rilke, Charles Baudelaire, Pablo Neruda, Amy Lowell, Emily Dickinson and many others.

To a cat / Jorge Luis Borges
Cat / Joan Aiken
The cat to his dinner / Nancy Willard
Ode to the cat / Pablo Neruda
# 55 / Lawrence Ferlinghetti
A cat's conscience / Anonymous
Sonnet to a cat / John Keats
The kitten / Ogden Nash
The cat as cat / Denise Levertov
The cats / Weldon Kees
Little cats / Langston Hughes
Catalog / Rosalie Moore
For a deaf Angora cat / William Jay Smith
To Winky / Amy Lowell
Poem / William Carlos Williams
Luxury / May Sarton
Cats / Charles Baudelaire
The tom-cat / Don Marquis
What the whiskers measure / Maurya Simon
You know how a cat / James Laughlin
On the death of a cat / Christina Rossetti
She sights a bird, she chuckles / Emily Dickinson
Cat & the weather / May Swenson
Black cat / Rainer Maria Rilke
Catnip and dogwood / Howard Moss
Curiosity / Alastair Reid
The Kilkenny cats / Anonymous

Genres: Poetry, Cats, Nonfiction, Animals

72 pages, Hardcover

First published September 14, 2001

About the author

Ferris Cook is an artist and book illustrator based in upstate New York, known for her work on numerous collections of poetry and essays since 1990. She has illustrated and edited various well-regarded works, including Odes to Common Things and Odes to Opposites by Pablo Neruda, The Sonnets of Shakespeare, A Murmur in the Trees by Emily Dickinson, The Rose Window by Rainer Maria Rilke, and several thematic poetry collections such as Bark (about dogs) and Yowl (about cats). Additionally, she has contributed to Garden Dreams and Remembered Gardens, collections of essays on gardening, and Gifts of Love, a compilation of love poems. Ferris Cook also wrote and illustrated The Garden Trellis. Her latest project is an illustrated Arabic edition of Neruda's 100 Love Sonnets. Her work is known for its blend of artistic sensitivity and literary exploration.

Reviews

[Danielle Palmer]

This is the second poetry book I’ve read that is completely about cats. I almost didn’t pick it up, because I kinda figured “read one anthology of cat poems, read em all…”. However, this one is modern poetry on cats, the other was a collection of cat poems all through written history. And they were very different. The illustrations alone are really marvelous, even if one didn’t love poetry.

[Steven Godin]

A dog will often steal a bone,
But conscience lets him not alone,
And by his tail his guilt is known.

But cats consider theft a game,
And, howsoever you may blame,
Refuse the slightest sign of shame.

When food mysteriously goes,
The chances are that Pussy knows
More than she leads you to suppose.

And hence there is no need for you,
If Puss declines a meal or two,
To feel her pulse and make ado.

[Thomaz Amancio]

Exatamente o que você espera de uma antologia de poemas sobre gatos, nem mais nem menos. Uma coleção de poetas ilustres - Borges, Neruda, Dickinson, Cristina Rossetti, Baudelaire - não em sua melhor forma, mas cujo estilo está curiosamente bem representado. Felinos misteriosos, nobres, indiferentes, mágicos, sinistros...

[Tyler]

Beautiful illustrations. Mediocre poetry.

There are lots of famous cat poems from the 20th century, but this poem seems to miss a few (Merrill, Bishop, etc.), substituting oddball poets like Nancy Willard and May Sarton, surprises that sometimes pay off (as in the former), but in an anthology this short, I think there should be very little room for surprises.

[kutingtin]

“O freelance household beast, arrogant vestige of night, lazy, agile and strange,

O fathomless cat, secret police of human chambers and badge of vanished velvet!

Surely there is nothing enigmatic
in your manner,

maybe you aren't a mystery after all.

You're known to everyone, you belong”

[Lorraine]

What a fun and whimsical book of poetry written for the cat lover of all ages. It is a very short book at 62 pages, but each poem is wonderful and the illustrations by Ferris Cook are sensational.

[chloe ᓚᘏᗢ]

“The cat’s yellow eyes are the only slot for depositing the coins of night” ughhhh brilliant 😩😩😩 I too love old fat sociable cats

[Melinda]

I adored this book. The illustrations were just adorable and so well done and the poems were fun and cheeky. I am really glad I picked this book up from the clearance bins at The Strand in NYC.

[loafiechloe]

“The cat’s yellow eyes are the only slot for depositing the coins of night” ughhhh brilliant

[Helen]

Yowl is a nice collection of poems featuring cats from such note-worthy and diverse poets as Emily Dickinson, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and William Carlos Williams. Ferris Cook's illustrations in pen and ink are charming and blend well with the poems.

There doesn't seem to be any sort of rhyme or reason as far as how the poems are placed, and which ones are chosen. But it doesn't really matter, this was a fun read and would be enjoyable for cat and poetry lovers alike.

[Peacegal]

This is a presentation of feline poetry, much of it from the classic era; however, the real star here is the illustration work. Every cat lover will no doubt recognize a cat they have known and loved in the astonishingly real sketches.

[Kruip]

Like cats, read this.
Beautiful selection of poetry about, over, concerning, on cats, by a number of known, well known and famous poets, beautiful drawings by Ferris Cook.

I've enjoyed this booklet very much.

[Willow]

The poems are fun to read!