Ginsberg, Allen

Death & Fame: Last Poems 1993-1997 with: Poem on Postcard; with: Bookmark Ephemera

ISBN: 0060192925
New York, NY: HarperFlamingo/HarperCollins, 1999. First Edition. Hardcover; Card Stocks. "Allen Ginsberg was one of the bravest and most admired poets of (the 20th) century. Famous for energizing the beat generation literary movement upon his historic encounter with Gregory Corso, Jack Kerouac, and William Burroughs in mid-century New York City, Ginsberg influenced several generations of writers, musicians, and poets. When he died on April 5, 1997, we lost one of the great figures of twentieth-century American literary and cultural history. This singular volume of final poems commemorates the anniversary of Ginsberg's death, and includes the verses he wrote in the years shortly before he died."(from front flap) With a foreword by Ginsberg's great contemporary & friend Robert Creeley, & afterword by Bob Rosenthal, who was Ginsberg's secretary & the executor of his estate. This first edition/first printing is from the library of Ken Mikolowski, the acclaimed poet-printer-professor who with his late wife Ann was the founder & proprietor of the legendary Alternative Press in Detroit (later Grindstone City & Ann Arbor, MI), which published works by their friends Ginsberg, Creeley & other major figures of the Beat Generation, Black Mountain & New York Schools. Included in this copy are two very significant items: A rare Alternative Press-produced letterpress postcard with Ginsberg's short poem "Starry Rhymes," placed where this poem, written only two weeks before Ginsberg died, appears in the volume on page 88. A lovely, exemplary production on dark cardstock with dark blue background & embossed stars on recto. Also, a bookmark from the Shaman Drum Bookstore, the late landmark institution in Ann Arbor founded & led by the late Karl Pohrt, friend of Mikolowski, early mentor of Third Mind Books & one of the most revered figures in the rich intellectual & literary history of Ann Arbor. With text & illustrations on recto & verso, this relic (presumably the same vintage as book & postcard- 1999) was placed after the front endpaper, where we leave it. The final statements of his prolific & profound career, this is an essential Ginsberg collectible, greatly enriched with these additional relevant items & important provenance. Book in very fine condition, substantially mint inside & out; unclipped dust jacket in very fine condition with only very slight creasing & outward-bending at upper edge of front, back cover & spine; one small area of light scratching & residue in blank portion above mid-left lower edge of back cover. Postcard in very fine condition, substantially mint on recto & verso. Bookmark in very fine condition with only tiny bump-crease at upper right edge & corner (recto), otherwise substantially mint. Very Fine / Very fine. [Item #2863]

Price: $80.00 save 20% $64.00