Winans, A.D.

The Show Must Go On

Northampton, MA: Glass Eye Books / Ecstatic Peace, 2010. First Trade Edition / Association Copy. Softcover in Stiff Wrappers. Signed by A.D. Winans to Legendary Literary Outlaw, Charles Plymell. “This is not a poem about / Ted Bundy / Well not exactly / Though history will record / That at precisely 7:16 / In the morning on / January 15, 1988 / Ted Bundy made / His final peace / If mass killers can ever / Be said to find peace / After a night of crying / And praying / Bundy was strapped into / The Death chamber / To be executed for his sins / One has to wonder what / Went on inside his head / As they strapped his chest / Arms and legs to the wooden chair / … / When asked if he had any last words / Bundy hesitated and said / In a slightly quivering voice: / “Give my love / To my family and friends.” (from Title Poem, “The Show Must Go On”). Offered here is “The Show Must Go On,” the chapbook-length title poem from this poignant, well-executed (pun-intended?) work by A.D. Winans — a meditation on the Death Penalty, which Winans is evidently against. Regardless of one’s politics on the issue, the poem is powerfully delivered — and whether one agrees with the statement attributed to legendary literary outlaw, Charles Plymell that “A.D. Winans is “as strong as Whitman…[and that he] lays bare again the American character,” one can at least see where he’s coming from by reading a Winans poem as powerful as this. This copy is additional ly inscribed, signed, and dated by Winans to blurb contributor Plymell on title page. Winans’ inscription, signature, and date in blue pen ink, reads: “To Charlie, a ‘TRUE’ / Poet & Valued friend. / A.D. Winans / 03-15-11.” Softcover in stiff wrappers: “Printed November, 2010 in Florence, Massachusetts for Glass Eye Books / Ecstatic Peace by Collective Copies. Design by Thurston Moore, Byron Coley and John Shaw,” per colophon. While (as the colophon continues) “this edition consists of 224 trade copies and 26 lettered and signed by the author,” We at TMB surmise that this is part of an out-of-sequence series of author copies distributed by Glass Eye directly to Winans (with one of the aforementioned “author copies” subsequently gifted to Plymell, as Winans often did). Very Fine. [Item #5516]

Price: $35.00