Camaj, Jake

Trails to Limbo & Beauty ("Rough Copy")

Detroit, MI: Obese Lizards in Bright Orange Suits, 2021. Limited First Edition / "Rough Copy." Stapled Wrappers. Signed by Jake Camaj. "MY IMPRESSIONS WILL FLOWER THIS ROCK FOREVER! / INSPIRE THESE SEASONS / I COULD! / I could pack my things the way I am now, / for the road I imagine / is long enough still to catch the last train alive / with the luxuries of champagne budgets / and smoking inside. / I live out the rest of my days / born murdered / in solace." (From the untitled ninth poem of this unpaginated collection). Offered here is "Trails to Limbo & Beauty," a mimeo-resemblant collection of poems by the Detroit-based American Surrealist poet, Jake Camaj. Camaj's work belongs to the tradition of Beat Generation writers whose work sports (what this writer might call) 'a Surrealist serrated edge.' Writers like Bob Kaufman, Philip Lamantia, and the early work of Michael McClure come to mind as ancestral exemplars of this "edge" or affinity. A dedicated Burroughsian and no stranger to the kaleidoscopic contusions that all legitimate encounters with the Cut-Ups of William S. Burroughs inflict upon the aspirant reader, Camaj brandishes the hard-won scars of his apprenticeship without ever lapsing into pastiche. Not entirely dissimilar to the aforementioned Cut-Ups of our Patron Saint-Demon, it is very likely that successive printings, variant editions, and later publications in which these poems are compiled will take on notably different forms. In any case, this humble codex of contemporary Beat Surrealism succeeds where it intends to. A genuine missive from the Detroit Literary Underground. This edition--the "Rough Copy" edition--might be more accurately called the "Working Proof Edition." It was printed in an unnumbered limited edition of ten copies & intended solely for distribution at local literary events before selling out completely at the poet's recent, Detroit-area reading on Halloween, 2021. A clue on the wild publisher's name: in the same way that the legendary Mimeograph Revolution poet from Cleveland, d.a.levy, self-published titles under differing press names, Camaj likewise playfully proceeds in the "maze-making" tradition of the Mimeograph Revolution...mischievously littering scholastic-&-biographical red herrings about. Illustrations by David Michael Albers, save a select few visual contributions from the poet's hand. Large-format chapbook in stapled wrappers, Limited First Edition, First Printing (1/10 unnumbered copies, as noted above) of the Working Proof Edition /
"Rough Copy Edition" of Camaj's "Trails to Limbo & Beauty." The work is additionally signed by the poet on the rear wrapper, at interior. Signature, in thin black pen ink, reads: "Jake Camaj." In very fine condition with only slightest shelf-wear to fine-edges, unsurprising given the mimeo-like fragility of this production--virtually as new. Very Fine. [Item #4855]

Price: $50.00