Winans, A.D.

This Land is Not My Land

Rockford, MI: Presa Press, 2005. First Edition. Stapled Wrappers. Signed & Inscribed by A.D. Winans to Legendary Literary Outlaw, Charles Plymell. “Your Panama war poems resonate for me more powerfully and memorably than any war poems I have read, including WW1 poets like Rupert Brooks and Wilfred Owen,” wrote the legendary author of “Beat Hotel,” Harold Norse (1916-2009) to the legendary San Francisco poet, A.D. Winans (b. 1936). The publication of these verses constitutes an exciting occasion for Beat Scholarly initiates and experts alike. It’s common for biographical or poetic surveys to describe (& divvy up) epochs in the life of the writer by focusing on moments (or periods) in which something “biographically momentous” occurred. One such period, as those who have read & read about Winans can tell you, is the work Winans composed while stationed in Panama (as a Military Policeman) during the American occupation of that country. As one Vince Gotera of the North American Review succinctly put it, these are “honest, scathing, important poems,” considered by many to be his best. This 2005 Presa Press edition provides the chance for Winans readers, fans of political poetry, more generally, as well as the “impressively curious” to dive into a lost classic and remember why Winans takes his place among the (Beat) canon in the first place. Softcover in stapled wrappers: a First Edition, First Printing of this once-mythologized early work by A.D. Winans. The copy offered here is especially desirable: firstly, on account of having been inscribed & signed twice by the poet, himself—and secondly, on account of its dual status as an Association Copy. First Winans inscription & signature — in thin, black ink on half-title page, — reads: “To Charlie / “A.D. Winans.” “Charlie,” of course, is legendary literary outlaw (& treasured friend of Winans’), Charles Plymell—co-publisher of the estimable Cherry Valley Editions, and all-around storm trooper for the literary vanguard. The Second Winans signature, this time in thin, blue pen ink beneath his printed name on title page, reads: “A.D. Winans.” Book in strong fine condition with minute-to-moderate shelf wear, rubbing, & tiny exhibits of bumping to front, back covers & corners. Very Fine. [Item #5104]

Price: $30.00 save 20% $24.00