Favorite poem or collection of poetry
Definitely Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, illustrated by Edward Gorey. I used to do puppet shows of some bits, reciting the poems and moving puppets around. For a while, I could recite all of “Macavity, the Mystery Cat.”
Macavity’s a Mystery Cat: he’s called the Hidden Paw–
For he’s the master criminal who can defy the Law.
He’s the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad’s despair:
For when they reach the scene of crime–Macavity’s not there!
The illustrations are charming, and the poems are delightful. I spent a lot of time in college reading all kinds of poetry, and quite liked it (I wrote my Honors Thesis on the poetry of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester), but this was my first poetry love, and will always be special to me.
You have to love a book with cats who are pirates, supercriminals, daring acrobats, and all kinds of awesome things.