Eshleman, Clayton

A Pitch-Blende (Maya Quarto Three)

San Francisco, CA: Cranium press, 1969. First Edition. Sewn binding. Signed by Clayton Eshleman. Presented here is a poetry chapbook from American poet, translator, editor, and scholar Clayton Eshleman (1935-2021). This is prime Eshleman material, a glimpse of the “real” Clayton — because he had yet to petrify into that state of perpetual embitterment that caused his verse, in later years, to chafe — that remains young, bright, and sincere. A book like this is a testament to the fact that Eshleman had the talent and poetic ability to be “just as great” as his more popular contemporaries, but his eventual embitterment and inclination to make enemies of men rather than friends remains perhaps his biggest hindrance of achieving even greater recognition. Published by Clifford Burke’s (b.1942) Cranium press, this is a lovely artifact of Bay Area fine press printing from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Hand-sewn chapbook in wrappers: As stated at colophon, this is one of “Fifty copies [that] are on Tovil in Fabriano wrappers and are numbered and signed by the poet. August 1969”. Includes “This is copy number” to indicate a numbered copy, but was not numbered. Signed by Clayton Eshleman in purple ink at colophon. Book is in fine condition with notable scratches/markings on front cover near title & author and near bottom edge; minor bumping along fine edges; minor folding at upper corners of font and back wrappers; mild creasing near bottom edge of front wrapper; pages have minor toning from age. Fine. [Item #6719]

Price: $40.00