from johnson rare books & archives

New York: The Third Press, 1973. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/Very good. An early collection of verse by the much-honored poet, designed and illustrated by Bennie Arrington. A founder of the Black Arts movement, Sanchez (b.1934) was awarded the 2001 Robert Frost Medal for her contributions to the canon of American poetry. Small octavo. Original lavender cloth binding,… Read more

The Roger Gozdecki Collection of E.E. Cummings includes fine first editions of the poet's primary works, many of them signed, as well as letters, original drawings, and a striking self-portrait. The compete catalogue can be downloaded here: https://mcusercontent.com/90ec68132b3c021c2e6819f62/files/efb04ecd-6b48-f2e4-c217-69ef266902c2/EECUMMINGS.pdf.

New Orleans: Loujon Press, 1963. First Edition. Wraps. Near fine. Limited to 777 copies. This is one of the 40 copies in which Bukowski has written a spontaneous aphorism, each one unique, above his autograph: "I hope you never ride a camel with Ginsberg - Charles Bukowski April 4th, one nine 6 three 8:31 p.m." An… Read more

Andernach: Burn Again Press, 1990. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine. This is copy No. 37 of 50 signed by the author. Among the scarcest of Bukowski's later publications. Octavo. Original pale green paper-covered boards, with printed paper title labels. A fine copy. Krumhansl 116.

Detroit: Planet Detroit Chapbooks, 1986. First Edition. Wraps. Fine. Signed by Charles Bukowski on the front panel. A rather uncommon publication, featuring eleven poems by the laureate of American lowlife. Octavo: [13] p. Original printed paper wrappers, bound with two staples. A fine copy.

New York: Exposition Press, 1966. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. Inscribed and dated by Austin Black on the front flyleaf. "A devotee of Langston Hughes and LeRoi Jones, the author in this collection of poems confines himself to the contemporary scene, projecting the belief that the artist today must be involved in political life. He says of… Read more

London: Bloomsbury, 2012. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Octavo: 245 p. Original glossy boards; issued without a dust jacket. A fine, unread copy.

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. Trade paperback. Fine. Octavo: 295 p. Original paper wrappers. A fine, unread copy.

New Haven: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. Octavo: 199 p. Original printed boards; issued without a dust jacket. Just a hint of edgewear; else a crisp, unread copy. Near fine.

London: Peter Lang Publishing, 2000. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Studies in Nineteenth-Century British Literature, Volume 15. Octavo: 202 p. Original glossy boards; issued without a dust jacket. A fine, unread copy.

Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate, 2009. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. ...offers a new critical insight into the relationship between Milton and the Romantic poets. Beginning with a discussion of the role that seventeenth and eighteenth-century writers like Dryden, Johnson and Burke played in formulating the political and spiritual mythology that grew up around Milton, Shears devotes a chapter to each… Read more

San Francisco: Dave Haselwood Books and City Lights Books, 1970. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. Signed and dated by Allen Ginsberg on the title page. During 1962-63, Ginsberg and his partner, poet Peter Orlovsky, traveled extensively India, living half a year at a time in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Benares (Varanasi). His writings from this period are wonderfully eclectic,… Read more

Berkeley: Creative Arts Book Company, 1977. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. Signed and dated by Allen Ginsberg on the title page, with the ticket from a poetry reading at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts on May 7, 1993 laid in. An astonishing, unexpurgated, revelatory dialogue between two of the seminal figures of the Beat Generation, providing intimate… Read more

New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1991. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/Near fine. Signed and dated by Adam Zagajewski on the title page. The poet's second volume to appear in English. One of the "Generation of '68" or "New Wave" writers in Poland, Zagajewski (1945-2021) rose to prominence with protest poetry. His later work explored such themes as… Read more

New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1985. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/Near fine. Signed and dated by Adam Zagajewski on the title page. One of the "Generation of '68" or "New Wave" writers in Poland, Zagajewski (1945-2021) rose to prominence with protest poetry. His later work explored such themes as "the night, dreams, history and time, infinity and… Read more

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. This catalogue provides extensive bibliographical descriptions of 224 editions and translations of John Milton's works printed before 1801, as well as less detailed descriptions of 223 other works, the more important Miltoniana in the Library. Octavo: 536 p. with 60 plates. Original blue cloth binding, with gilt… Read more

London: Faber and Faber, 1961. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. There are four variants of this first edition. This particular example contains the title page in state B, and page 33 in state A. There is no clear priority between the different states. Each comical poem in this whimsical collection describes a member of an eccentric imaginary family. Hughes… Read more

London: Faber and Faber, 1935. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/Near fine. The Archbishop Thomas Becket speaks fatal words before he is martyred in this, T.S. Eliot's best-known drama, based on the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1170. Praised for its poetically masterful handling of issues of faith, politics, and the common good, it bolstered Eliot's reputation… Read more

Cambridge: The Riverside Press, 1911. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. This is Number 222 of an unknown number of copies signed by Olive Percival. An endearing work, merging Percival's passions for gardening and Chinese poetry. Olive May Graves Percival (1868-1945) was a multi-talented Los Angeles writer, photographer, gardener, artist, and bibliophile. Although she earned her living as an… Read more

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First edition, first printing. Signed and dated in the year of publication by W.S. Merwin on the title page. Merwin's 18th book of poetry pays tribute to real and poetic landscapes whose presence, the environmentally conscious poet modestly hopes, should outlast our own. In addition to his lyrics,… Read more