Various (Ammons, A.R.; Berry, Wendell; Curry, David et al.)

Apple No. 4 (Autumn, 1970)

Springfield, IL: Apple Magazine, 1970. First Printing. Stapled Wrappers. "I have always been attracted to the work of William Carlos Williams by his use of the art of writing as an instrument by which a man may arrive in his place and maintain himself there. I am still involved in comprehending the implications of such a labor, but this has been the fascination and the solace I have found in him from the first. He has always about him the excitement of the awareness that poetry, as much as the axe or the plow, is a necessity of discovery and settlement, and of the husbanding and neighboring that must follow" ("Homage to Dr. Williams" by Wendell Berry, pg. 6-9). "Apple" literary magazine, while largely unknown--even to collectors of mid-century American literature--is exemplary in a very particular way. For, it gives insight--comic and particular--into the catty world of NEA grant-gifting and the politics of poetic infighting. Apple Magazine's editor, David Curry devotes a few pages at the end of the issue ("A Statement from the Editor") untangling some tedious controversy/gossip surrounding his acceptance of $250 from the Federal Government as part of a National Council on the Arts grant-award attained for his publication of a poem by Dick Lourie (b. 1937) titled "1966," first published in the 'Third Annual American Literary Anthology" by the venerable Viking Press. Curry, as it happens, committed the unforgivable sin of providing for himself as a poet by way of merit-backed achievement--which, in the minds of his disgruntled and jealous contemporaries, equated to full-scale support of the Vietnam War, or some other count of Fealty to The Man. It's quite hard to tell, actually--but it's exemplary of the circles in which many of these aspiring poets traveled, and of how the communities they built were often destroyed by their own notorious petulance. At any rate, the gem of the issue is easily the contribution by the celebrated American poet and eco-activist, Wendell Berry (b. 1934), who contributes "Homage to Dr. Williams," quoted at the curation's outset. The other notable appearance comes from the great A.R. Ammons (1926-2001), who won the National Book Award for Poetry (first in 1973, and again in 1993), who deservingly remains a favorite of poetry consumers, today. Small-format literary magazine in stapled wrappers: the first and only printing of this exemplary early-70s poetry journal. In very fine condition with only minute-to-moderate shelf-wear, bumping to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers & spine-edge; item also contains the original slip (folded at center, nestled between Berry's contribution on pgs. 6-7) to re-subscribe to the "irregularly published" periodical. Very Fine. [Item #5212]

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