Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot

Softcover British edition published by Faber and Faber from 1989

This British edition of Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot differs largely from most popular American versions because Edward Gorey didn't do the illustrations; instead, "Nicolas Bentley drew the pictures," according to the front cover. First published in 1939 with Bentley's illustrations, this book of whimsical cat poems is a lot lighter than most of T.S. Eliot's other work as it was written mostly for his godchildren. It also served as the basis for the musical Cats, although whoever adapted it definitely took a lot of creative liberties. This slim volume is entertaining for adults and children alike, and features a nice monogrammatic Faber cover with one of Bentley's illustrations.

This Planet Is Doomed by Sun Ra

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.