Please Plant This Book
 | |
| Author | Richard Brautigan |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Bill Brock |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Publisher | Richard Brautigan |
Publication date | 1968 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Softcover) |
| Preceded by | All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace |
| Followed by | The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster |
Please Plant This Book is Richard Brautigan's sixth poetry publication. It consists of a folded and glued folder containing eight seed packets. On the front of each is a poem. This was Brautigan's last self-publishing venture and came out in an edition of 6,000. The entire edition was offered for free distribution, and permission to reprint the collection was explicitly granted, as long as the new printing was also offered free-of-charge. Although a relatively large edition for an early Brautigan work, it's one of the harder items to find.
The eight poem titles and associated seed packets are as follows:
- California Native Flowers
- Calendula
- Carrots
- Lettuce
- Sweet Alyssum Royal Carpet
- Squash
- Shasta Daisy
- Parsley
This project was re-created for the first time since 1970 and for the first time in the UK for the inaugural Dinefwr Literature Festival, June 2012, West Wales. saltpeter and the Brautigan Book Club is bringing a trilogy of Brautigan inspired events, one of which is Please Plant This Book, to celebrate the start of this festival, held in the countryside and on the grounds of historical Dinefwr Park and Castle. In addition to reprinting the poetry folders, a mini-album of musical responses will also be distributed for free, and the public will be taken on a walk through the grounds where a pomegranate tree, nicknamed "the Brautigan pomegranate", has been planted. Ianthe Brautigan, Brautigan's daughter, was present at the festival, having flown in from San Francisco to join in the celebrations. It is possible to obtain limited edition handmade copies of PPTB for free here.
The only hope we have is our
children and the seeds we give them
and the gardens we plant together.
"Lettuce" from Please Plant This Book (1968)[1]