Micheline, Jack (Bennett, John; McClure, Michael; Plymell, Charles; Weinberg, Jeffrey et al.)

Ragged Lion: A Tribute to Jack Micheline

Ellenburg, WA: Vagabond Press, 1999. First Edition. Hardcover. "Genius is a ragged lion / holding sunlight in his hands / Friend of outlaw, rare grotesque / Alone he flies with eyes of eagles / Lunatic, / Ape, / Angel, / Demon, / Fiend, / Torn and spit upon by cowards / he walks with angels and despair / Genius, poet, ragged lion / holding sunlight in his hands." (from Title Poem). In some impoverished alternate universe, Jack Micheline (1929-1998) might've become a snobby academic. A "poet's poet" given, perhaps, to forensic tableside inspections of the wine label...to sniffing around for evidence of fraud (and sure signs of coming betrayal) by the English Department's proverbial Water Cooler. If he wanted to, Jack Micheline could've lived out his years in such a department. He was surely bright enough. He'd read voraciously, imbibing the great poetic achievements of the past with virtually unrivaled enthusiasm…extracting from each a lesson transferrable to his own Troubadour’s Life in Letters. His hard knock, street-level life was, from a sociological perspective, firmly in the Hunckean mold. His poetry, however, knew well the spirit of Beatitude...the proprietary blend of ecstasy, certainty, gratitude & wonder that will go on recruiting readers to Beat literature and history 'till the final warhead drops. Both sides of The Ragged Lion are in abundance here, but this here title tends toward the reverent, to Micheline at his best--the way our saints-&-sinners ought to be remembered. If he were alive at the time of publication, we'd very likely have called this a "Festschrift," the German word for "a collection of writings published in honor of a scholar." Instead, we have the informal, heartfelt contributions of contemporaries and friends...a collaboratively-assembled Celebration of Life in Printer's Ink. "Ragged Lion" is by turns hilarious, informative, heartbreaking—a fitting tribute to the work and the man, here given more meaningful praise than most could hope to die with. [ISBN: 978-0912-824-390]. Book in Sealed / As New condition, quite literally still in the publisher's protective plastic wrapper, as the images accompanying this listing make clear; this listing offers our distinguished clientele the chance to procure a singularly pristine copy of a vital Micheline title. Sealed / As New. [Item #4932]

Price: $35.00