Various (Ferlinghetti, Lawrence (Editor); Apollinaire, Guillaume; Beach, Mary; Beck, Julian; Corso, Gregory; Ginsberg, Allen; Keenan Jr., Larry; McClure, Michael; Nuttall, Jeff; Olson, Charles; Pelieu, Claude; Plymell, Charles; Shattuck, Richard et al.)

City Lights Journal, Number 3

San Francisco, CA: City Lights Books, 1966. First Printing. Softcover. Signed by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The third number of the landmark first series of literary journals published by Lawrence Ferlinghetti's iconic Beat imprint, City Lights Books. Featuring an article by Richard Shattuck about the great French Surrealist poet & playwright Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918, "Apollinaire's Great Whitman Happening") with a photograph of Apollinaire; Mary Beach's translation from French into English of a fragment from her husband Claude Pelieu's prose-poetry work ("Here Now Fast"); the script & related writings by Julian Beck of his avant-garde Living Theatre Company's production of "Frankenstein" including photographs of the staged work; a fragment from the poem "Mutation of the Spirit" by Gregory Corso; a short prose work, "Pound at Spoleto," by Ferlinghetti (1919-2021, the canonical Beat-&-Beyond poet, publisher & bookseller who also edited this issue), a lengthy poem by Allen Ginsberg dated June 15, 1965 ("New York to San Fran"); the poem "Mad Sonnet" by Michael McClure; "Boy with Face of Sour Apples," a prose fragment by Jeff Nuttall (1933-2004, who published William S. Burroughs' works in his 1960s My Own Mag series); an explicit translation of a fragment of ancient poetry, "The Song of Ullikumi," by Charles Olson (1910-1970, our favorite Maximus Obscurantist); the poem "Apocalypse Rose" by Charles Plymell (b. 1935, Legendary Literary Outlaw & our beloved friend); & more. With more photographs & illustrations, including a famous image of poets in front of City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco taken by Larry Keenan Jr. on December 5, 1965 featuring Ferlinghetti under an umbrella, Richard Brautigan, Ginsberg, McClure, Peter Orlovsky & many others on front cover. Trade-format softcover, first printing with all points in: Cook, No. 57, pgs. 62-63; Morgan (Ferlinghetti), C228, pg. 196; Morgan (Ginsberg), C240, pg. 239; Dowden, pg. 66; Butterick & Glover, C184, pg. 58. On the title page/ front endpaper, Ferlinghetti has hand-written his signature (last name only, as most common) in somewhat faded black felt-tip ink. From the collection of Kevin Ring, editor-publisher of & contributor to Beat Scene magazine & other indispensable productions (many available here), & our good friend in the UK. A classic collectible with a stellar roster of Beat-&-Beyond contributors, significantly enriched by its great editor-publisher-contributor Ferlinghetti's signature, & with distinguished provenance. In relatively quite near-fine condition with mild-to-moderate rubbing, browning, mostly faint scratching to front, back covers & esp. spine; mild wear & some tiny bumps, creases at/from edges & corners of same; series of faint creases across length of spine; mild-to-moderate rubbing, browning, occasional scratching & spotting to edges of text block. Interior fine-to-very-fine with very light browning to blank inner covers & page leaves; previous owner's (not Ring) hand-written contemporary signature & date of "28 November 1966" in black ink near upper right edge/corner of inner front cover; tiny bumps, faint creases at corners of a few leaves. Near Fine. [Item #6630]

Price: $100.00 save 15% $85.00