Clark, Tom

Paradise Resisted: Selected Poems 1978-1984 (Two Editions)

ISBN: 0876856113;087685613X
Santa Barbara, CA: Black Sparrow Press, 1984. First Softcover Edition Review Copy; Limited First Hardcover Edition. Softcover; Hardcover. Review Copy signed by Tom Clark & with signed illustration, autograph poem; hardcover edition signed by Tom Clark. "Goodbye to love, life and art is on every tongue/ Our time tiptoes to the edge of the extinct volcano/ The future holds hands desperately with the past/ The way the Flatirons look at dawn from the cemetery this/ morning/ Puts death and life into a different proportion" (from "Metaphors, " pg. 60) A collection of poems from the early-mid career of Tom Clark (1941-2018), the profound & prolific New York School-&-Beyond poet, editor, novelist, biographer & artist who deserves posthumous recognition as a great American writer. The poems, many gathered from smaller previous publications, are organized according to various American states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Wyoming et al.) with Clark's evocative, topical musings on various locations, & include homages to Jack Kerouac, Robert Lowell & others. We offer two editions of this landmark collection: (1) First trade-format softcover edition, review copy with publisher's review slip loosely included between rear endpaper & inner back cover. On blank, light brown-yellow front endpaper, Clark has hand-painted an illustration of a palm tree flanked by the words "Paradise" & "Resisted," with his signature just below, all in bold watercolor. On blank page opposite title page, Clark has hand-written a poem entitled "Pseudo. Mediterranean" in dark-purple felt-tip ink. We cannot locate this poem among those in the volume, & believe it may be original. On title page, Clark has hand-signed his name in the same ink as the poem noted above. (2) Limited hardcover edition, one of 200 copies numbered & signed by Clark at colophon, printed during April 1984 as noted therein. This is copy No. 110/200, numbered in red & signed in green ink. An exemplary production of the venerable Black Sparrow Press. Two very rare editions, one quite uniquely so, of this essential collectible in the Clark canon. (1) in very fine condition with only mild rubbing to front, back covers & spine; a bit of wear & a few tiny bumps at edges & corners of same; light spotting to edges of text block. Interior very fine with only small, faint crease-bumps at upper corners of page leaves; tiny bumps at lower corners of same. Review slip printed on recto only, substantially mint. (2) in very fine condition with only a bit of rubbing & sparse spotting to front, back cover boards; very light wear at edges & corners of same; mild-to-moderate spotting to edges of text block esp. lower edge. Publisher's clear plastic protective jacket very fine with mild rubbing & scratching to front, back covers, spine & flaps; mild wear & a few tiny bumps at edges & corners of same. Interior very fine with only very small spot-bleedings at blank thin edges of a few page leaves. An extra handling fee will be added for shipping due to the weight of this bundle. Very Fine. [Item #3829]

Price: $100.00 save 20% $80.00