Creeley, Robert; Escobar, Marisol

Presences: A Text for Marisol

ISBN: 0684143674
New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1976. First Softcover Edition. Softcover. "Big things. And little things. The weight, the lightness of it. The place it takes. Walking around, it comes forward, or to the side, or sides, or backward, on a foot, on feet, on several feet." (first paragraph, unpaginated) A collaborative work by Robert Creeley (1926-2005), the canonical American poet who was associated with the Beat Generation; & Maria Sol (Marisol) Escobar (1930-2016), the great Venezuelan-American Pop Art Sculptor who as here was always referred to by her nickname "Marisol." Photographs of Marisol's sculptures & assemblages (some of which this writer has seen in museums & found quite riveting) are interspersed with Creeley's prose-poetic, impressionistic & art-critical commentary. A very unique production for Creeley, known mostly of course for his compelling Beat-&-Beyond poetry. Trade-format softcover in sewn binding, first softcover edition published simultaneously with a hardcover edition & designated as one of publisher's "First Editions" (Thus?) series on back cover, presumably a first printing with long number-&-letter sequence beginning with "1" on copyright page. From the collection of the late artist-poet Erin Black Matson, who with her then-husband the acclaimed poet & educator Clive Matson was a bona fide member of the Beat Generation- morphing into the hippie counterculture during the 1960s. The Matsons were protégé-colleagues (in lifestyle as well as literature) of Herbert Huncke, Bonnie Bremser et al. A sui generis combination of images & text by two major figures of American arts & letters, with distinguished & kindred provenance. The relatively good-to-near-fine condition of this volume is exemplary of its long ownership & use by Erin, a tried-&-True Beat-Bohemian to the end: Moderate-to-significant rubbing, light scratching & occasional spot-staining to front, back covers & spine; mild wear, some tiny bumps, creases & a few very short, closed tears at thin edges & corners of same incl. very slight loss of surface paper esp. at spine-edges, corners; one faint but long angled crease at front cover (not substantially effecting image or text); moderate-to-significant rubbing & spotting to upper edge of text block; moderate rubbing & spotting to side & lower edges of same. Interior fine with mild browning, spotting & staining to blank inner covers, decreasingly echoed onto first, last few page leaves; miniscule bleeding of text block-edge spots noted above onto edges of a few of same; tiny bumps at corners of a few of same. Good- Near Fine. [Item #4745]

Price: $40.00