Clark, Tom

Stones

New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1969. First Edition. Hardcover. "At twenty-seven, Tom Clark has been Poetry Editor of the Paris Review for five years, has received two Hopwood awards, and one of Poetry's annual awards. His readings draw huge, enthusiastic audiences that would be the envy of many an Establishment poet twice his age. The reasons for such attention are clearly in evidence in Stones, the first collection of his poetry. The poems themselves are deceptively simple, even conversational; because of their easy wit, their formal irregularity, their surprises, and their unflagging playfulness, the reader may not at first realize that this book is an introduction to an entirely new poetic generation." (from front flap) The first hardcover collection of poems by Tom Clark (1941-2018), the prodigious poet, editor & biographer who got off with a bang during the heady 1960s as demonstrated in the above quote. Clark carried on prolifically even as his star faded, leaving us a vast & brilliant legacy. The very prestigious Hopwood awards mentioned above, by the way, are given by the University of Michigan here in our hometown of Ann Arbor, which Clark attended. Hardcover in unclipped first-issue dust jacket (with $4.95 price & "0169" printed on front flap), first edition as stated on copyright page. With front cover DJ illustration by Joe Brainard (1942-1994), the legendary, unclassifiable artist & writer who tragically fell victim to AIDS. A beautiful production; & a foundational Clark collectible. Book in relatively near-fine condition with mild-to-moderate rubbing of front, back covers & spine with slight loss of black surface paper to boards & discoloration of yellow cloth (but with letters, graphic on spine quite bright & intact); similar light wear at edges & corners of same esp. cloth portion; light spotting to edges of text block (side edge of same untrimmed as issued). Interior very fine with only a few light spots at blank areas of shorter title page; very slight browning; miniscule bleeding of text block-edge spots noted above onto upper & side edges of a few page leaves; tiny bumps, creases at upper corners of some of same. Dust jacket good-to-near-fine with light rubbing, browning & occasional spotting, spot-staining to front, back covers, spine & flaps; mild wear & some tiny bumps, creases & chips at edges & corners of same with slight loss of paper esp. at edge between rear flap & cover; moderate browning, spotting & spot-staining to blank inner jacket, mostly invisible at front surface. Near Fine / Good- Near Fine. [Item #5218]

Price: $45.00 save 20% $36.00