[Item #5364] An Absolute Gift: A New Diary. Ned Rorem.
An Absolute Gift: A New Diary
An Absolute Gift: A New Diary
An Absolute Gift: A New Diary
An Absolute Gift: A New Diary

An Absolute Gift: A New Diary

ISBN: 0671226665
New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1978. First Edition. Hardcover. "Ned Rorem, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, author of the famous Paris Diary and New York Diary, now brings us An Absolute Gift, his eighth and keenest book. Further dissecting the vocabulary of gay sensibility, fearing the lure of suicide, analyzing contemporary cultural events and the forces that created them, Rorem combines his musical talent with literary panache, rhythmically weaving his journals with charm, brashness, honesty and malice...whatever Rorem writes...he speaks in the voice of a musician, observer, lover. The cries of outrage have not been muted, the iconoclasm has not been tempered, but there is in this newest work a canny maturity and wisdom that confirm Rorem, one of the foremost composers of our time, as one of our wittiest and most precise critics as well." (from front & rear flaps) An eloquent, spicy work of diaristic criticism & memoir by Ned Rorem (1923-2022), the great & prolific American musical composer & author. Rorem's many published diaries are as famous for their gossipy intimacy about his many relationships (with literary & musical giants including Leonard Bernstein, John Cheever, Noel Coward & Tennessee Williams) as for their most insightful commentary & criticism; as exemplified in this mid-career volume where he "...probes our cultural theories and comments on the mores of noted and glamorous artists, writers and composers." (dust jacket front cover) Hardcover in unclipped first-issue dust jacket (with $9.95 price printed on front flap), first edition, first printing as indicated by number sequence on copyright page. A desirable Rorem collectible in its rarest original form. Book in fine condition with light wear to edges & corners of front, back covers & spine; light rubbing, browning & occasional faint scratching to edges of text block; publisher's logo remainder stamp at lower edge of same. Interior fine with only tiny area near upper right corner of blank orange front endpaper with loss of surface paper; two very small areas with same near inner lower corners of rear endpaper, pastedown; a hint of browning to blank margins/edges of page leaves. Dust jacket near-fine with mild-to-moderate rubbing, scratching & occasional spotting to front, back covers, spine & flaps; light wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same. Fine / Near Fine. [Item #5364]

Price: $35.00