Editing Captain Beefheart (section)

==Publications==
In 1987, Van Vliet published ''Skeleton Breath, Scorpion Blush'', a collection of his poetry, paintings and drawings.<ref>Van Vliet, Don (Captain Beefheart). ''Skeleton Breath, Scorpion Blush'' (all poems in English, preface in German and English). Bern-Berlin: Gachnang & Springer, 1987. {{ISBN|978-3-906127-15-6}}</ref>

Two books have been published specifically devoted to critique and analysis of his artwork: ''Riding Some Kind of Unusual Skull Sleigh: On The Arts Of Don Van Vliet'' (1999) by W. C. Bamberger<ref>Bamberger, W. C. ''Riding Some Kind of Unusual Skull Sleigh: On The Arts Of Don Van Vliet'', {{ISBN|0-917453-35-2}}</ref> and ''Stand Up To Be Discontinued'',<ref>Various authors. ''Stand Up To Be Discontinued'', Paperback: {{ISBN|3-9801320-2-1}} Hardback Limited Edition (1500) with CD: {{ISBN|3-9801320-3-X}}</ref> first published in 1993, a now rare collection of essays on Van Vliet's work. The limited edition version of the book contains a CD of Van Vliet reading six of his poems: ''Fallin' Ditch'', ''The Tired Plain'', ''Skeleton Makes Good'', ''Safe Sex Drill'', ''Tulip'' and ''Gill''. A deluxe edition was published in 1994; only 60 were printed, with etchings of Van Vliet's signature, costing [[Pound sterling|£]]180.<ref>{{cite web |first= Graham |last= Johnston |url= http://www.beefheart.com/zigzag/books/standup.htm |title= The Captain Beefheart Radar Station – Stand Up To Be Discontinued |work= Beefheart.com |access-date= July 18, 2011 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110817060211/http://www.beefheart.com/zigzag/books/standup.htm |archive-date= August 17, 2011 |df= mdy-all }}</ref>

In 2004, [[Rhino Entertainment|Rhino Handmade]] released in a limited edition of 1,500 copies of ''Riding Some Kind of Unusual Skull Sleigh''. It is a signed and numbered box set containing a CD of Vliet-recited poetry, the [[Anton Corbijn]] film of Vliet ''Some YoYo Stuff'' on DVD, and two art books produced by Artist Ink Editions. ''Splinters'' is a visual "scrapbook" of Vliet's life. The second book, eponymously titled, is packed with Vliet's artwork. An onion-skin wallet contains a matching-numbered Vliet lithograph on hand-rolled paper, signed by the artist.