The Unspeakable Visions of the Individual, Tenth Anniversary Issue
ISBN: 0934660034
Pennsylvania, CA: Arthur & Kit Knight, 1980. First Printing. Softcover. This commemorative tenth anniversary issue of the pioneering series of Beat Generation anthologies, edited & published by Arthur (1937-2012) & Kit Knight, features letters, drawings, prose & poems spanning the beginnings of the Beats through the end of the 1970s, when most of the original figures were still quite in their prime: Gregory Corso, Allen Ginsberg, John Clellon Holmes, Herbert Huncke, Jack Kerouac, Philip Whalen & more are represented. Of particular interest, & admirable prescience by the Knights, are the contributions of many female Beat adjuncts: Bonnie Bremser, Carolyn Cassady & Joanne McClure, the long-suffering wives of Ray, Neal & Michael respectively; & Jan Kerouac, the neglected daughter of Jack whose fate was even worse than her father's, are given voice, commencing their emergence from the shadows of their famous Beat partners & parent. With many fascinating, intimate photos throughout, some well-known & much-reproduced, but quite a few never seen before or after this appearance (check out a very young Ginsberg in suit & tie, tucked into a stately armchair & being served by a black waiter at an elite club by Robert Frank, pg. 109). Speaking of prescience, ponder this Huncke quote, circa 1975, on pg. 1: "Something is happening now that hasn't happened before. Something very frightening is happening and I don't know what it is, but I tell you I think we're going through a period right now that's very scary. I couldn't put my finger on it and say look, such and such is the case, and it'd be advisable for you to move a desk from there to over there because I believe there's a bomb going off over there, but I think that's exactly what's going to happen. I think they're getting ready to use violence on a much larger scale than they have heretofore." An essential collectible for all serious students of the Beat Generation. We deem it in near-fine condition mainly due to four interior leaves (pgs. 167-174) being detached from binding, though in very fine condition, complete & tight-fitting. Unfortunately, we have found that the bindings in this old series are brittle & do not age well, so the remaining majority of attached leaves must be handled very carefully. Otherwise in very fine condition with only lightest rubbing to front, back covers & spine; mildest wear & a few tiny bumps at edges & corners of same; one very thin, light vertical crease across spine; mild rubbing to edges of text block esp. lower edge. Interior very fine except for detached leaves noted above; tiny bumps at corners of a few page leaves; very light browning to inner front & back covers; one light water(?) stain at-near upper left corner of inner front cover just above original price reference. Near Fine. [Item #3301]
Price: $20.00