Archy and Mehitabel

"Archy and Mehitabel" is a strange, funny little book. Drawing from the conversational poetry found in books like Edgar Lee Masters "Spoon River Anthology," Marquis uses a colloquial style which not only suits his characters, but works in a poem. Lots of laughs, some decent writing, and a tasty way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Talking animals are easy to find in literature. Good ones, like a cat and a cockroach of this caliber, are not. Marquis brings humanity by allowing his animals to stay animals. Spiders still are poisonous, rats are still threatening, and cockroaches have never been able to type the capital letters on a typewriter. Marquis pushes reality, keeping his characters grounded in truth (OK, he fudges with truth a lot, but don't let that stop you). While filled with humorous tales, moments are sad, like in the ninth poem, "freddy the rat perishes." Dear Freddy has a run in with a spider who is up to no good. In a valiant struggle, a tough South American spider ("raised on red pepper and blood" and "nursed on tabasco sauce") Freddy is killed while saving his friends. Freddy ate some poisoned cheese the night before and let the spider bite him, knowing he had nothing to lose. After it was over, Archy and Mehitabel dropped Freddy "off the fire escape into the alley with/military honors". Despite the whole premise being ridiculous, a tear might well up. Children will love being read the stories, and younger teens may find poetry readable (before you send them on to Keats and Byron!). Great, funny pictures, completely in the context of each poem-tale. I fully recommend this book. Anthony Trendl editor, HungarianBookstore.com

archy (or is it don marquis) is a greater poet than the critics admit think of e.e. cummings did he suffer so by diving headfirst on to the typewriter keys but he probably knew archy from some greenwich village coffeehouse amazing to think these poems were newspaper columns when a column meant a column straight down the inky newsprint archy's words staining fingers the newspaper column had a golden age alas it is gone poor archy and now i too have a headache

now granted worlds bestloved cockroach is not a competitive title boss but you have to agree mehitabel the cat says that i should just forget it and return to my dusty corner but mehitabel is a lady cat who just between us boss is not what we might call a lady except by default of her increasing battered state boss ive been meaning to ask if you would leave some cracker crumbs by the typewriter tonight and maybe a fish or two the ones in your bed will do i mean for crumbs but the fish youll have to find somewhere else mehitabel the cat is hungry and you know i hate to see her eat alone i hope you are finding some readers for my vers lbre after all these years i know that children love to read it because they see that i understand how silly punctuation really is i have seen copies of my work handed to big english department gurus who felt uncomfortable with it because they hadnt seen it reviewed in new york or anywhere else so i hope this will help them because they need it boss i mentioned the possibility of royalties to mehitabel and she said that she had all the royalty she needed because she said she was once cleopatra and knew only the creme de la creme but sometimes i think she was never really cleopatra but is afraid i will feel sorry for her i do please find something for her to eat soon as she has that look in her eye again and its the dusty corner for me right now