Cats I've Known: On Love, Loss, and Being Graciously Ignored

by Katie Haegele

Overview

From deep friendships to brief encounters, this is the story of the cats in Katie Haegele's life, or rather the story of her life in relation to the many cats she meets in Philadelphia's streets, alleys, houses, apartments, and bookstores. Through Haegele's sharp, wise, and at times hilarious gaze, we see cats for what they truly are: minor deities that mostly ignore the human foibles being played out around them. They accept our offerings with equanimity and occasionally bestow some nice thing on us. Haegele, author of White Elephants and Slip of the Tongue, has a unique and compelling sensibility, and it's a treat to see the world through her eyes as she shows us all the meanness, weirdness, and vulnerability of humans, against an ever-shifting backdrop of the cats we often take for granted, and who ignore us all democratically in return.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781621064817
Publisher:	Microcosm Publishing
Publication date:	10/10/2017
Series:	Gift Series
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	14 Years

About the Author

Katie Haegele grew up on the outskirts of Philadelphia and went to college at the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied linguistics. After graduation she began working as a journalist, starting out as the book section intern for the Philadelphia Weekly. These days she writes about books for the Philadelphia Inquirer, The Comics Journal, and other outlets, and her personal essays and reported articles have been published in the Utne Reader, Bitch magazine, Philadelphia Magazine, Adbusters, and few books. After a few years of working as a writer she began to miss linguistics, but found she didn’t really want to go back to school. So she started writing her zine The La-La Theory, a hodge-podge of language facts, oddities, and poems. Since then she has published dozens of zines, including White Elephants. At this point making zines — and being part of the worldwide zine community — is one of the most important things in her life.Read an interview with Katie on the Microcosm blog.

Editorial Reviews

07/03/2017
Writer and zine maker Haegele (White Elephants) muses on 44 cats she’s lived with, met, or heard about in brief, sweet essays charmingly illustrated by Trista Vercher. The cats belong to family, neighbors, friends, roommates. The best entry centers on Trixie, a “little black cat” who lived with the author for 14 years; Haegele offers a loving personality sketch and tribute to her longtime feline companion filled with quirky details such as how she used to tape bird photo “pin-ups” near Trixie’s favorite lounging spot. Unfortunately, over a dozen of these essays read like undeveloped jottings from a notebook: “Cat’s Cat,” for example, is a half-page pseudonarrative about the cat of a high school friend of her husband. Too often, Haegele observes but doesn’t reflect, and as a result the book is slight and unmemorable. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Haegele ( White Elephants ), whose broad writing experience includes memoirs, poetry, and contributions to various print and online publications, here discusses 44 cats in 42 vignettes. Readers are sure to find at least one cat among those featured whose story and antics appeal or brings back memories of their own feline encounters. The conversational narrative style fits well with the relaxed mood of the stories. Although, the cats are predominantly strays, there is nothing preachy or overly emotional about this telling. Given the popularity of cats, as well as interest in memoirs about animals, this book will satisfy pet lovers everywhere. Recommended for young adult as well as adult readers." —Edell Marie Schaefer, Library Journal

From the Publisher

09/01/2017
Haegele (White Elephants), whose broad writing experience includes memoirs, poetry, and contributions to various print and online publications, here discusses 44 cats in 42 vignettes. Readers are sure to find at least one cat among those featured whose story and antics appeal or brings back memories of their own feline encounters. The conversational narrative style fits well with the relaxed mood of the stories. Although the cats are predominantly strays, there is nothing preachy or overly emotional about this telling. VERDICT Given the popularity of cats, as well as the interest in memoirs about animals, this book will satisfy pet lovers everywhere. Recommended for young adult as well as adult readers.—Edell Marie Schaefer, Brookfield P.L., WI

Library Journal