Monday, September 10, 2012

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

Usually, I don't read poetry very often. Every so often though, I find myself drawn to a poet or collection of poems, which grabs my interest and captures my imagination.

Earlier this year, while visiting the Lost Horizon bookstore in downtown Santa Barbara,  I purchased a copy of Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. 

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats caught my attention immediately because of both its unique title and the art work on its cover. I was further intrigued to discover that this book was a compilation of fifteen poems about cats. 

Up until this point, I'll admit that I was only familiar with Eliot's poems The Waste Land and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock that I'd been forced to read long ago for some long forgotten literature class. I don't remember being overly impressed by either of these poems, but that could have been for any number of reasons that I can't recall now.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I like cats and I like poetry, so I decided that I would give Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats a go. Surely, I could read fifteen poems about cats, right? 

I'm so glad that I read Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. It's a wonderfully whimsical collections of poems. My three favorite poems in the collection are as follows:

1) Gus: The Theatre Cat
2) The Ad-Dressing of Cats
3) The Pekes and The Pollicles


I also learned earlier this year that the musical Cats is based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats!! How cool is that?!

2 comments:

  1. Honestly I am so glad I visited your blog. That book is beautiful! What a find. I didn't even know this book existed. I am now on the hunt for it!!! Wonderful art work on this book!

    Angie

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    1. Thank you for the compliment and for visiting my blog!! I try very hard to blog about a diverse amount of book related topics to keep readers interested. :-)

      I didn't know that Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats existed either. The eye catching cover snagged my attention upon walking through the front door of the Lost Horizon bookstore.

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