Funniest thing I've read in years. Maybe ever.

books:

	• Poetry for Cats: The Definitive Anthology of Distinguished Feline Verse Henry Beard Villard, 1994 - 87 pages average customer review:based on 16 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

I have seen the best cats of my generation...

Fantastic, one of my favorite cat books. Every time I pick it up, I change my mind about what the best poem is.

I actually remember lines from these poems sometimes, in circumstances where less happily placed people would recall lines from the original
poems !

By the way, 'Beowulf' is about the least wonderful, perhaps because the original was of no interest to me; too bad that that is the one Amazon used as the excerpt.

I've read some of these as "friendly email" forwards, with no attribution. Folks, always use accurate attributions; People like Henry Barber (the 'editor' of these works) deserve to make a living out of what they produce. :-)

Also by the way, 'French for Cats' by Henri B. The little furfaces gather when I practice the French phases in it. Tell me French is not the natural language of cats! :-)

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Funniest thing I've read in years. Maybe ever.

I ordered this book from a used seller, and by the time it was finally shipped, I'd forgotten I ordered it. I opened up this mystery package on the way home from work and was thrilled. I opened it up, read one poem, and nearly peed myself from laughter.
The author writes as one who must have observed many a cat over the years. Showing both a love of poetry and a love of the feline, this book appeals on several levels.
English teachers could use verses from this book to quiz their students -- whose cat wrote this poem? What is the poem on which this verse is based, etc.
I wish there were another volume. What would Beard do with The Highwayman, or The Cremation of Sam Magee? Do I dare wonder how he would remake Maya Angelou's I'll Rise?
I am buying another copy, this one for my mother, whom I called as soon as I got in the house after unwrapping the book -- still holding on to my purse and keys. I may buy her French For Cats as well, since she can pronounce the French.
Hilarious and will actually make you go back to the computer (or your high school English teacher) to find out some of the original poetry.

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Great Cat Poetry

Readers of Poetry for Cats: The Definitive Anthology of Distinguished Feline Verse by Henry Beard will notice how much influence humans have on cats. Cats will not enjoy having this pointed out. They work hard to protect their free will and try to dictate the terms of their relationships with humans. You can not just pick up a cat and expect it to be happy being held; you have to wait until the cat is ready. Cats will not play with toys just because you want to play. Cats appear to think independently, but their poetry betrays them.

Here is a bit of verse written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's cat:

I chased a mouse beneath the stair,
It went to ground, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it ran, my sight
Could not follow it in its flight.

Sound familiar?

There is more. Samuel Taylor Coleridge's cat wrote the following:

In Xanadu did Kubla Kat
A splendid sofa-bed decree
With silken cushions soft and fat
A perfect feline habitat
Set on a gilt settee.

Here is another sample, this time by William Shakespeare's cat:

To go outside, and there perchance to stay
Or to remain within: that is the question:
Whether `tis better for a cat to suffer
The cuffs and buffets of inclement weather
That nature rains on those who roam abroad
Or take a nap upon a scrap of carpet ...

Have you noticed a trend? It appears that cats listen more than they let on, and they even identify with the humans with whom they relate. They certainly borrow verse as freely as they claim their favorite chairs.

Cats do deserve some credit for knowing what poetry to borrow and adapt as their own. They are able to turn bits of Chaucer, Keats, Frost, or Ginsberg into works that serve their purposes, such as catching goldfish, breaking vases, or berating Whitman for sleeping too late. In near unison they raise their voices to complain about their vets.

One thing that surprises me about Poetry for Cats is that Henry Beard never reveals the cats' names. I can not imagine that Emily Dickinson had a nameless cat!

Poetry for Cats is an attractive book with colorful illustrations and is still in print after eleven years. I found our copy when inventorying the poetry collection. I am afraid few people have borrowed it lately, so I am going to put it on display. The cats need to be heard.

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Lovely cat poems

What a lovely little book of poems, even if "written" by cats! These cats all seem to have learned a lot from their owner authors because every example in this anthology is a gem. We learn what we should have already known: cats have great disdain for vets, they love mice and baby birds, and are self-centered and haughty. But they are lovable too, and so is this book.

You don't have to LOVE cats to love this book

I love poetry, and I like cats but am not a "cat person"--and I ADORE this book. These are wonderful parodies, funny on their own, even funnier when you know the poem they're based on, and funniest of all when you add in the cat angle.

I am amazed by Henry Beard's talent as I read them. The one based on Wordsworth's "Daffodils" is probably my favorite, but the Beowulf one is also great, as are the "Xanadu" and "Paradise Lost" ones. Actually, I should probably just say that they're all fantastic.

This would make a wonderful gift for an English major, a cat lover, a poetry lover, a writer, anyone who does public speaking, anyone who works in a veterinarian's office...I could go on and on.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

In the vein of his bestselling French for Cats, Henry Beard has assembled a brilliant anthology of treasured works by feline poets. Includes "Do Not Go Gentle to That Damned Vet" by Dylan Thomas's cat, "The Human" by Edgar Allan Poe's cat and other works. Poetry for Cats will prove as thrilling as a stiff shot of catnip. Color illustrations.

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