Duerden, Richard

The Fork

San Francisco, CA: Open Space, 1965. First Edition. “You have carried a branch of tomorrow into the room-its fragrance awakened me.” Robert Duncan. Poet Richard Duerden (1927-2000) was born in Utah and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He joined the Merchant Marines and the Marine Corps, like so many Beat figures, and was educated at the University of California. A member of the San Francisco Renaissance poetry movement, Duerden founded the literary journals “Foot” and the “Rivoli Review.” His books of poetry include “The Fork” (1965), “The Left Hand & The Glory of Her” (1967), and “The Air’s Nearly Perfect Elasticity” (1979). His poetry was anthologized in “The New American Poetry, 1945–1960” (1960, edited by Donald Allen). A selection of his manuscripts and correspondence is archived in the Stanford University Libraries and a smaller selection of his correspondence with poet Philip Whalen is archived at the Reed College Library. Offered today is Duerden’s first book of poetry, 1965’s “The Fork.” Duerden’s work in this collection soars, Icarus-like, yet never manages to falter. His prose is tight, musical, effulgent, restrained, and seems to be clearly inspired by the likes of contemporaries like Alan Ginsberg (1926-1997), and Charles Olson (1910-1970), as well as those that came before particularly Robinson Jeffers (1887-1962) and Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891). In the end, “The Fork” was a monumental work that paved the way for Duerden, and remains as an artifact that demands to be studied by every poet and enthusiast of the form! From the collection of scholar, poet and our dear friend Robin Eichele (b. 1941), noted Mimeograph Revolutionary & co-founder (with the late, great John Sinclair [1941-2024]) of the Detroit Artists’ Workshop. Softcover. Limited first edition, one of 500 copies. Book is in very fine condition with only minor wear at fine edges. Very Fine. [Item #6802]

Price: $60.00