Dahlberg, Edward

The Confessions of Edward Dahlberg

New York, NY: George Braziller, 1971. First Edition. Hardcover. "At nineteen I was a stranger to myself. At forty I asked: Who am I? At fifty I concluded I would never know. Know thyself is a wise Socratic exhortation, but how is it possible? Do I even understand a tithe of my nature? In truth, I know nothing about anybody, least of all about myself. No matter what I do it is likely to be wrong; one bungles everything, for the brain is feeble and an intuition is a saline and marshy guess. Whatever one has done he will do; that is his character, and he can neither improve nor escape it." (from front flap, quoted from Part I, "The Prentice Years," pg. 3) A late, sweeping work of memoir, commentary & life philosophy by Edward Dahlberg (1900-1977), the great American writer whose harrowing, unstable early life inspired his autobiographical first novel, Bottom Dogs (1930), now a collectible classic. Dahlberg also inspired & crossed paths with the Beat Generation, having contributed to several issues of Big Table alongside William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac et al. In this late, mature testament, Dahlberg offers a treasury of wisdom as he looks back with deep observation on his eventful life & experiences. This is the first edition, first printing as stated on copyright page, hardcover in unclipped dust jacket. A seasoned, clear & compelling summing-up; & an essential collectible in the Dahlberg canon. Book in fine condition with only very light rubbing to front, back covers & spine; mildest wear & fading to edges & corners of same; some shallow, non-penetrating scratches & dimples at blank black cloth back cover; mild rubbing, browning, fading & occasional tiny spots at edges of text block. Interior fine with mild browning & occasional spotting to front & rear inner cover/pastedowns & endpapers; smudges of what appear to be excess ink possibly with mold at upper edges to rear of same. Dust jacket in relatively fair-to-good condition with moderate rubbing to front, back covers & spine; moderate-to-significant wear, creasing & short tears to edges & corners of same incl. tape repair of closed tear at upper right corner of front cover, small amount of paper loss at lower spine; significant scratching & tiny dimples at back cover (extending onto back cover cloth as noted above); much less of these at spine & front cover. Fine / Fair-Good. [Item #3399]

Price: $25.00