Charters, Samuel (Creeley, Robert; Duncan, Robert; Ferlinghetti, Lawrence; Ginsberg, Allen; Olson, Charles; Snyder, Gary; Welch, Lew et al.)

Some Poems/ Poets: Studies in American Underground Poetry Since 1945

Berkeley, CA: Oyez Press, 1971. First Softcover Edition. Softcover. "I don't want anyone who's interested in contemporary poetry to be put off by any sense of formality in these studies of a group of poems and poets out of the last twenty years of the American poetic experience...What I've tried to do in these studies is to get down some of my own responses to writing that seems to have an importance in the growth of the new American poetry- with the intention that this kind of opening to an experience of the poem might lead someone to the poem itself." (from "An Introduction" by the author) A now-classic study of post-war American poets & their works, written while these innovative figures were still "underground" & not yet in the canon of the larger culture. Samuel Charters (1929-2015) was a legendary polymath- historian, musician, poet & scholar- as well as the partner in life & work of Ann Charters, the acclaimed, pioneering Beat scholar & biographer of Jack Kerouac. Charters discusses & dissects key poems by Robert Creeley, Robert Duncan, William Everson [Brother Antinonus], Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, Charles Olson, Gary Snyder, Lew Welch & others- among the foremost poets of the Beat Generation, Black Mountain & New York Schools, etc.- with great original insight. An exemplary production of the Oyez Press, designed by the Cranium Press. First Edition as stated on copyright page, trade format softcover in sewn binding, most likely issued concurrently with the first hardcover edition. With a portfolio of photographs of some of the poets, taken by Ann Charters, who presumably also took the photo reproduced on front cover. An essential rarity for the Beat collector & scholar. In near fine condition with mild rubbing, spotting, scratching & a bit of light browning to front, back covers & spine; very light wear & a few tiny bumps at edges & corners of same; one small, mostly blank rubbed area at lower back cover with loss of glossy surface; very light rubbing & a few tiny spots at lower edge of text block. Interior very fine with only tiny bumps at corners of some page leaves. Near Fine. [Item #4442]

Price: $25.00