Carver, Raymond

All of Us: the Collected Poems with: Ephemera

New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf; Engdahl Typography, 1992; 1998. Advance Uncorrected Proof; Prospectus. Softcover; Single Folded Sheet. "In what would have been Raymond Carver's 60th year, and 10 years after his death, his poems- more than 300 in all- are collected here for the first time. All of Us brings together, in the order of their publication, the early poems of Fires, the mature work of Where Water Comes Together With Other Water, Ultramarine, and the intensely moving A New Path to the Waterfall, completed shortly before his death. Poems uncollected in his lifetime are printed in an appendix, and the text contains full details of first publication and significant variant readings. The introduction by Tess Gallagher, Raymond Carver's widow, provides valuable insights into his methods of composition." (from publisher's statement, first leaf) The substantially complete compilation of poetry by Raymond Carver (1938-1988, b. Raymond Clevie Carver Jr.), the canonical American poet & short story writer considered by some critics to be among the ever-most important, & whose works are now enshrined in the Library of America series. Here we offer the advance uncorrected proof of this milestone collection, trade-format softcover in light blue wrappers, with "Publication date: (handwritten 18) September 1998" & "This is an Uncorrected Proof" printed at front cover; printed sheet folded once with review-blurbs stapled at side-edge of inner front cover. "First American Edition" as stated on copyright page, preceded two years earlier (1996, as this edition is copyrighted) by the first UK edition. We have included a very interesting & collectible item of Carver ephemera: The original publisher's prospectus for Carnations: A Play in One Act (1992), single sheet folded vertically to form two leaves with printing on all four sides, a beautiful letterpress production featuring reproduction of an illustration from this edition. The prospectus was at one time folded horizontally into three sections, & has attendant creases therefrom; otherwise in very fine condition with only a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners. See our item No. 5644, & other Carver volumes & contributions. A foundational Carver collectible in an increasingly rare pre-publication form, with enriching ephemera. In fine-verging-on-very-fine condition with very light rubbing, faint scratching & a touch of browning, fading to light blue front, back covers & spine; a bit of wear & some tiny bumps & creases at edges & corners of same; one faint crease across length of spine; two staples parallel with & near right edge of front cover as issued; light, sparse rubbing at edges of text block. Interior very fine with only staples at inner front cover per above; tiny bumps at corners of a few page leaves. Fine- Very Fine. [Item #5664]

Price: $80.00