Plymell, Charles

Cowboy of the Ancient Sea

North Salem, NY: Bottle of Smoke Press, 2018. Second Edition / Author Copy. Softcover. “To you who sung the riddles of that desolate Atlantis / while wind worn wagons swept a sunken trail into eternal dust. / To your sod, your grass, your easy hills of flint from glacial / slope to wanderlust. ‘Perfect cattle country…the best I’ve / seen since Uruguay.’ I’d oft heard you say, your dreams and maps / unfolded beneath those eyes that inventoried skies, could you / have known the winter owl’s alarm where black beasts of Angus grazed? / I could not see as far, but went my way, you understood, and / watched the windmills tell their listless joy to silt and seam. / Life must be beautiful or all is lost…” (from “In Memory of My Father,” pg. 9). “Cowboys of the Sea” brings together two powerhouse poems by now rightly associated as being among the pillars of Charles Plymell's (b. 1935) printed oeuvre, “In Memory of My Father” and “From Ancient Land (Vernal Equinox Dream) / Washington, D.C. 1984.” To this, it adds archival-grade biographical curiosities that bookend or surround the poems and enrich them considerably. Examples include the citizenship papers of his father, Fred, as well as pictures of his father that harken back to Charlie’s dust bowl youth. As it says on the “About the Author” page, “Charles Plymell was born on the high plains in Finney County, Kansas in 1935 in a converted chicken coop during one of the blackest dust storms of that period. His father was a cowboy born on the Oklahoma Territory, his mother of Plains Indian descent.” In demonstrable testament to his Beat bona-fides, Plymell’s origin story imbues his life and verse with the sort of authenticity scarcely found elsewhere. Truly among the last of a dying breed, Plymell’s work and legacy will undoubtedly grow in estimation as time marches on. Trade-format softcover original; the Second Edition of this masterful Plymell title. Originally published by Bill Roberts’ Bottle of Smoke Press “in an oversized, letterpress edition,” per colophon. “This second edition of ‘Cowboys of the Ancient Sea,’” it continues, “was designed and printed in North Salem, NY in March 2018. Limited to an open edition of perfect bound copies, of which 25 copies are signed by the author and contain a laid-in photo of the author signed by the photographer.’” While the “photographer” in question is not actually named in the colophon, it’s of no matter, here. This particular copy, in fact, fits neither designation—for it’s an author copy obtained directly from (and additionally signed by) Charles Plymell on title page. The poet’s signature, in bold, black fountain pen ink, reads: “Charles Plymell.” Book in very fine condition, virtually as new with only faintest shelf-wear to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers. Very Fine. [Item #5070]

Price: $30.00