Peters, Robert

Hawker

ISBN: 087775165X
Greensboro, NC: 1984. First Edition. Hardcover. Inscribed & signed by Robert Peters to James Perrizo. "Robert Stephen Hawker (1802-1875) was Vicar of Morwenstowe in Cornwall. He lived all his life in this wild and desolate parish near the high, jagged cliffs of the Cornish coast, noted for its shipwrecks. Hawker, poet, essayist, individualist, was obsessed with rescuing drowned sailors; he dressed eccentrically by day, played at being a mermaid by night, took opium in later life...and left a body of writing and legend behind him, from which (Robert) Peters has drawn one of his unique "voice portraits." " (from prospectus) A volume of poems inspired by the life & work, & in the "voice" of Hawker, by Robert Peters (1924-2014), the great American poet, playwright, critic & scholar whose original academic specialty & life-long interest was the literature of the Victorian era, especially some of its more fascinating lesser known characters such as the subject here. This is the first hardcover edition published simultaneously with the first softcover edition during 1984, in beautiful cloth binding without dust jacket presumably as issued. On the title page, Peters has hand-inscribed & signed: "Jim-/ How about a weekend on/ the Tamor(?) Pines? You/ can step across it with/ no problem- and a short/ walk beyond is Hawker's hut,/ bless him.-/ (signed) Robert P./ May 20, 1986/ Mich(igan)./ underline/ doodle-flourish." "Jim" is the late James Perrizo, a devoted Beat-&-Beyond collector & scholar who befriended Peters (as can be seen by this warm, intimate inscription) & with whom he exchanged many letters. The "hut" that Peters refers to was built by Hawker with wood salvaged from shipwrecks & was embedded "In the cliff above the horrendous bay..." (from Peters' introduction) of his parish in Cornwall, England. Also present in this volume, loosely placed between rear endpaper & inner back cover, is a single-sheet prospectus, or possibly a Xerox copy thereof, folded vertically & printed on one side to form two pages. There is a photograph & short biography of Peters, & both pages contain hand-written notations about publication dates, prices & the next volume in Peters' "voice portraits" series (Kane, 1985). A most desirable Peters collectible, greatly enriched by this inscription, association, provenance & ephemera. Book in very fine condition with only the slightest rubbing & wear to edges & corners of front, back covers & spine; three small, mild indentations at lower edge of front cover most probably as issued; otherwise substantially mint inside & out. Prospectus in very fine condition with only a few short, faint creases at edges, corners & surface. Very Fine. [Item #3293]

Price: $50.00 save 20% $40.00