Archyology : The Long Lost Tales of Archy and Mehitabel (Hardcover)

by don marquis (Author), jeff adams (Editor), ed frascino (Illustrator) "i had a serious talk..." (more)
Key Phrases: mehitabel the cat

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
"Archy and his racy pal Mehitabel are timeless," noted E.B. White in his essay on Don Marquis and his famous creations. The undimmed enthusiasm of several generations of fans (including yrs. truly) -- who every year buy thousands of copies of Marquis' earlier collections -- testifies to their appeal. A whimsical and sophisticated sage, archy the cockroach entertains readers with iconclastic observations on pretensions, politics, and our place in the cosmos. This collection of long-lost pages from archy's writings is funny yet profound.

From Booklist
Talk about blasts from the past! Marquis was in his day an extremely popular humor columnist. That day was, however, so long ago--Marquis died in 1937--that he ought to be a dead letter. But he created a couple of characters that have survived: archy and mehitabel, a cockroach and a cat whose names appear sans capitals because the cockroach, archy, couldn't hold down Shift and hit another key at the same time when he typed them. Their adventures have been reprinted steadily, which attests to a lasting fandom that will rejoice in these previously uncollected exploits that take the form of short-lined free verse epistles from archy (archy is the reincarnation of a poet) to his "boss," Marquis. Most report on a cruise to France and rambles about Paris; mehitabel's pretty scarce in them, but Marquis' genial humor abounds. A delightful rediscovery, not least because Ed Frascino's cartoon illustrations compare very well with those by Krazy Kat creator George Herriman in the original collections. Ray Olson

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 113 pages
• Publisher: UPNE; 1st edition (February 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874517451
• ISBN-13: 978-0874517453
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #591,069 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nearly Lost Art, March 20, 2004

By	Nickle Nip "Nickle Nip" (Sioux City, IA) - See all my reviews

Of course there's a value in teaching Emily Dickinson to our children. And no one would debate that every college student should immerse themselves in the likes of T.S., Joyce and Williams. But why are teachers missing out on such a classic collection of incredible poesy? wotthehell? Give it a read and see if you don't immediately take a copy to your next PTA meeting.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars archy and mehitabel are as unique as hamlet!, July 17, 1998

By	Dr. Baruch Hurwich ([e-mail]) (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews

picture two characters who inhabit the newsroom of a daily newspaper only in the night hours in the 1920s and 30s. a cat who believes and acts as if she s the reincarnation of cleopatra and a cockroach who writes his boss - that s in quotes - who s a reporter on the paper. but writing comes so hard that it is, well n-o-t what is written in the - booklist - review in amazon s internet review. i quote from the review - the cockroach, archy, couldn t hold down shift and hit another key. - wronggggg.,.,., i quote from don marquis s description - he did not see us, and we watched him. he would climb painfully upon the framework of the machine and cast himself with all his force upon a key, head downward, and his weight and the impact of the blow were just sufficient to operate the machine, one slow letter after another. he could not operate the capital letters... - can t you just cry with pain as you picture archy, or rathe! ! r, don marquis, writing his material, any and all material , for us. and suggesting that many writers must suffer as did archy to give us their thoughts, their beliefs, their observations, their opinions, their joys, their sufferings.... b-u-y- t-h-e b-o-o-k .,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,., - imagine caps, or parentheses - i can't do it, you see....

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Archyology the long lost tales of archy and mehitable, August 5, 2005

By	Mrs. S. A. Harrison "Jean Harrison" (Alabama) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

These are some of the most wonderful humorous writings ever. I first encountered them back in the '40s (1940 that is). Even copied them on an old manual typewriter (like Archy used). Have had the copies for over fifty years. It's great to get them in a book (my pages had become yellowed and crinkley). I hope to get the other books to go with these. For fun and entertainment and a good chuckle, you can't go wrong with "archy and mehitalbe"