Catku

April 1, 2004
"My brain: walnut-sized./ Yours: largest among primates./ Yet who leaves for work?" In 100 haikus illustrated with sepia-toned woodcut-like illustrations, Welch, author of two previous books with Andrews McMeel, gives voice to the hauteur and grace of cats using one of the most elegantly compressed verse forms. While the results are rarely poetry ("I don't mind being/ Teased, any more than you mind/ A skin graft or two"), they conform unerringly to the classic 5-7-5 syllable pattern and clearly reflect an appreciation of feline prowess and cunning. Fierce independence, dog torture, property destruction, sun worship, aquarium watchfulness--all get their 17 syllables. Japanese Kanji characters mark nearly every glossy page, printed in differing shades of faux-brown parchment, bringing something of Japan's long history of cat veneration to this 5x5 gift book.

March 8, 2004
"My brain: walnut-sized./ Yours: largest among primates./ Yet who leaves for work?" In 100 haikus illustrated with sepia-toned woodcut-like illustrations, Welch, author of two previous books with Andrews McMeel, gives voice to the hauteur and grace of cats using one of the most elegantly compressed verse forms. While the results are rarely poetry ("I don't mind being/ Teased, any more than you mind/ A skin graft or two"), they conform unerringly to the classic 5-7-5 syllable pattern and clearly reflect an appreciation of feline prowess and cunning. Fierce independence, dog torture, property destruction, sun worship, aquarium watchfulness--all get their 17 syllables. Japanese Kanji characters mark nearly every glossy page, printed in differing shades of faux-brown parchment, bringing something of Japan's long history of cat veneration to this 5x5 gift book.

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