Collins, Billy

The Apple That Astonished Paris

ISBN: 1557280231
Fayetteville, AR: The University of Arkansas Press, 1988. First Edition. Hardcover. Twice-inscribed, signed & dated by Billy Collins. "One of the most readable and accessible poets to appear in a long time, Billy Collins strikes at the deepest concerns of the human heart and mind. Frequently- as in such masterful poems as "Plight of the Troubador," "Child Development," "Embrace," The Past," and "My Number"- Collins sets up a premise, based on a comically unusual interpretation of an everyday situation, and then proceeds to unwind the premise in ways that are as delightful as they are disturbing. His metaphysical wit and cosmic puzzlement, expressed always in a clean, direct, unpretentious idiom, will touch every reader who is fascinated by the play of a truly original imagination and a disarming way of seeing the world." (front flap) The third collection of poems by William James ("Billy") Collins (b. 1941), the highly acclaimed & distinguished American poet & academician who served as the Poet Laureate of the United States (2001-2003) among his many honors. Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket, first edition, first printing, neither explicated as such but with no reference to further editions or printings on copyright page (a common practice of academic publishers). On the title page, mostly between title & author, Collins has hand-written, signed & dated in thinner black ink: "To Harry & Enid Munroe,/ Best wishes/ (signed) Billy Collins/ (slash through printed name)/ Dec(ember) (19)88." Below this, between printed underline & publisher information, Collins has hand-written & dated in bolder black ink: "and later in the/ next century,/ to Ann Holmes/ with pleasure/ at Sarah Lawrence/ Oct(ober) (20)00." An extraordinarily collectible version of one of this Great American Poet's most popular works, in its rarest original form & (perhaps singularly) enriched by Collins' two inscriptions, one from the year of publication (which further confirms this copy as a first edition/printing), the next at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Book in very fine condition with only slightest rubbing, wear at edges & corners of blue-cloth front, back covers & spine (silver-gilt lettering at spine, subtle tiny sparkles at covers all bright & intact); light spotting to edges of text block esp. upper edge. Interior very fine with first name of second previous owner ("Ann") in small cursive heavy pencil(?) slightly erased with attendant small area of smudging near upper right corner of blank front endpaper; leaking of only one tiny dot from inscriptions/signature title page onto blank area of verso copyright page; otherwise substantially mint. Dust jacket very fine with light rubbing, faint scratching to front, back covers & spine; a bit of wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same & flaps; one very thin, short scratch-mark at blank area of back cover near upper right corner. Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #5581]

Price: $800.00