Various (Stettner, Irving (Editor); Bowles, Paul; Kerr, Donald Jackson; Miller, Henry; Mrabet, Mohammed; Trantino, Tommy et al.)

Stroker No. 15 (1980)

New York, NY, USA: Stroker, 1980. First Printing. Stapled Wrappers. Inscribed & Signed by Donald Jackson Kerr. Inscribed & Signed by Donald Jackson Kerr. This number of the literary-art-cultural journal edited by NYC St. Marks Place underground denizen Irving Stettner (1922-2004) features a short piece of prose & a portfolio of black-&-white reproductions of four watercolor artworks by Henry Miller (1891-1980), the celebrated American author & artist whose earlier works were an influence & inspiration to the Beat Generation (pgs. 14-18). These works of 1979-80 were the final contributions by Miller to an issue of Stroker within his lifetime. Also in this issue are contributions of poetry & prose including the poems "The Lean Dogs" & "Long Venemous Sounds" by Donald Jackson Kerr (b. 1953?, an acclaimed New Zealand academician, curator, bibliographer & Man of Letters, we believe to the best of our research, pg. 13); transcriptions of three letters from the legendary Moroccan storyteller Mohammed Mrabet to Stettner (translated from the Moghrebi language into English, as ever, by the great Paul Bowles); a facsimile autograph letter from Thomas "Tommy" Trantino (b. 1938), a convicted murderer who spent four decades in prison & who exhibited talent in art & writing, to Stettner; & many more. On the contents page, contributor Kerr has hand-written this inscription & signature in cursive red ink: "For Alfred Perlis(?)/ from/ Donald Jackson Kerr(underlined)." Chapbook-format journal in stapled wrappers, presumed first-&-only printing. Shifreen & Jackson, C644, pg. 826. A quintessential exemplar of the later Mimeograph Revolution NYC Lower East Side Zine era in its singularly rarest contemporary form, enriched by Kerr's inscription-signature & of particular interest to Miller devotees. In relatively quite fine-to-very-fine condition with only mild rubbing, browning & faint scratching to front, back covers & stapled spine; a touch of wear & a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same; very slight rubbing, browning to edges of text block. Interior fine-to-very-fine with only very light browning to inner covers & page leaves; tiny bumps, faint creases at esp. upper corners of leaves & upper, side edges of a few leaves. Fine- Very Fine. [Item #6652]

Price: $75.00