Wilson, S. Clay (Plymell, Charles)

Dear Charlie

Marlborough, MA: Water Row Books, 2021. Numbered Edition. Hardcover. Signed by Charles Plymell. “William Burroughs said it best, of course, “A sure sign that an artist has mastered the craft is when you immediately recognize the work from a single glance or the reading of one sentence,” writes Charles Plymell (b. 1935) in his introduction to “Dear Charlie,” an instant classic-in-correspondence by two Great Americans: legendary literary outlaw, Charles Plymell, and pioneering Underground Comix Artist, S. Clay Wilson (1941-2021). “Any time spent with Wilson was ‘mad time,’ as mutual friends William Burroughs and James Grauerholz of ‘hometown Lawrence’ would testify. His art was mad too, the work of a genius somewhere between Goya and Aubrey Beardsley,” Plymell continues. “When he came to SF he came to our studio where I was printing the first ZAP [see TMB Item #2164]….These letters are a testament to his generous spirit keeping in touch with me as he traveled around his shows, or from his pad in SF….Like Burroughs, he never forgot his hometown friends, the most generous souls I ever met.” (Quotes above taken from both the work’s [seemingly] two-part Introduction, “The Electric Truth / Mad Time,” pgs. 3-6). So writes the indefatigable (and ever-opinioned) legendary literary outlaw, Charles Plymell in his two-part introduction to “Dear Charlie,” the important “new” work offered here. As Plymell’s introduction intimates, “Dear Charlie” consists entirely of Wilson’s letters to Plymell. It is refulgent with Wilson’s wild, bull-riding prose. Plymell’s responses, however are not included. This does nothing to sully the work’s status as a “delectable collectable” — one demanding of inclusion in the collections of all true Beat-&-Beyonders — especially when considering the gorgeous, full-color reproductions elected for inclusion, here. Hardcover in illustrated boards: the First “Numbered Edition,” as referenced on copyright page and indicated by signed, illustrated, tipped-in bookplate-card at upper center-middle of interior front board. [ISBN: 978-0-934953-89-9]. Signed by Charles Plymell & with facsimile signature of S. Clay Wilson, at lower right-hand margin of said bookplate-card. Plymell signature, in thin black pen ink, reads: “Charles Plymell.” At upper right-hand margin of card is the limitation (in thin, black pen ink), which reads: “#63/100.” Book in as new condition, fundamentally pristine. Very Fine. [Item #5125]

Price: $125.00