For his monthly "bestiary," in Ramparts magazine in the 1960s, Sorel adapted the ancient satiric device of dehumanizing one's victims by giving them animal characteristics. His foldout cover The Aviary (Hawkus Caucus Americanus), skewered pro-war advocates like Everett Dirksen--"Wildcrested Ficklehawk (Mellifluous Filiblusterus)"--and Lyndon Johnson--"Hickhawk (Consensus Offensis)"--with witty Latinate titles and puns. This early series helped establish Sorel's reputation as one of the preeminent satirists of his generation. Time magazine mentioned the bestiary in its 1968 profile of Sorel, which cited him among the best of the new platoon of caricaturists "fast moving up."
The Aviary (Hawkus Caucus Americanus)
Printed cover illustration for Ramparts, July 1966
Collection of the artist
© Edward Sorel
