A selection of the best of the hilarious free-verse poems by the irreverent cockroach poet Archy and his alley-cat pal Mehitabel.
Don Marquis's famous fictional insect appeared in his newspaper columns from 1916 into the 1930s, and he has delighted generations of readers ever since. A poet in a former life, Archy was reincarnated as a bug who expresses himself by diving headfirst onto a typewriter. His sidekick Mehitabel is a streetwise feline who claims to have been Cleopatra in a previous life. As E. B. White wrote in his now-classic introduction, the Archy poems "contain cosmic reverberations along with high comedy" and have "the jewel-like perfection of poetry."
Adorned with George Herriman's whimsical illustrations and including White's introduction, our Pocket Poets selection-the only hardcover Archy and Mehitabel in print-is a beautiful volume, and perfectly sized for its tiny hero.

Contents 
 
Introduction by E. B. White 
the coming of archy
mehitabel was once cleopatra
the song of mehitabel
mehitabel s extensive past
archy interviews a pharaoh
a spider and a fly
the merry flea
warty bliggens, the toad
mehitabel has an adventure
the wail of archy
mehitabel and her kittens
cheerio, my deario
the lesson of the moth
pete the parrot and shakespeare
archy confesses
the old trouper
ghosts
unjust 
mehitabel meets an affinity
mehitabel sees paris
the return of archy
archy protests
CAPITALS AT LAST
the stuff of literature
quote and only man is vile quote
mehitabel’s morals
cream de la cream
mehitabel tries companionate marriage
archy turns revolutionist
as it looks to archy
archy a low brow 
ballade of the under side
archy wants to end it all
archygrams
the artist always pays
why the earth is round
poets
at the zoo
confessions of a glutton
literary jealousy
pete’s theology
pete petitions
a radical flea
archy and the labor troubles
economic
takes talent
comforting thoughts
inspiration
a close call
immorality
archy reports
the demon rum
ancient lineage
the artist
destiny
a discussion
short course in natural history
archy protests
mehitabel sees it through
mehitabel meets her mate
mehitabel pulls a party 
not any proof
statesmanship
the author’s desk
what the ants are saying

Don Marquis; Introduction by E. B. White