Don Marquis

Born in 1878 and died in 1937, he was a prominent American newspaper columnist and humorist whose work bridged journalism and literature. He wrote for several New York newspapers, including the Evening Sun and the Tribune, where his columns 'The Sun Dial' and 'The Lantern' gained wide readership. His most enduring creation is the character Archy, a cockroach who writes free-verse poetry by jumping on typewriter keys, and his companion Mehitabel, an alley cat with a dubious past. These verses, which first appeared in 1916, used lowercase letters and no punctuation because Archy could not operate the shift key, a device that allowed him to satirize modern life, pretension, and mortality with playful wit. The Archy and Mehitabel poems were collected in volumes such as 'archy and mehitabel' (1927) and 'archy's life of mehitabel' (1933), and they remain classics of American humorous verse. He also wrote serious poetry and plays, but his legacy rests primarily on these comic personae. His work influenced later humorists and is noted for its blend of whimsy and philosophical reflection.