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| First paperback edition of This Planet Is Doomed by Sun Ra |
From the back cover by Bhob Stewart: "Beyond the interplanetary theatricality, catchphrases, non sequiturs, science-fictional costumes and kozmic chaos, Sun Ra (1914-1993) was an innovative bandleader, a potent pianist, an electronic keyboard pioneer, a visionary Afrofuturist poet-philosopher, an inventive composer and a prolific recording artist, releasing more than 100 albums totaling over 1000 tunes. Downbeat called him 'the prophet of modern jazz.' When the avant-garde arrived, they found that Sun Ra had already been there. 'I'm a troubleshooter for the cosmos,' said Sun Ra, 'sent here by the outer space beings from my home planet, Saturn.'" Sun Ra was, without question, a weird guy. Collected in this book for the first time by Kicks Books in 2011 are all of Sun Ra's celestial, be-bop musings and stories from space in the form of mostly free-verse poetry. This book is more fascinating than it is good, especially if you're in to Sun Ra at all—it also pioneered a "unique" genre of poetry. The cover design by Patrick Broderick is amazing, especially for something not more than a year or two old.
