Dalessandro, James

Canary in a Coal Mine

Santa Cruz, CA: Sanguine Books, 1974. First Printing. Softcover. Signed & Inscribed by James Dalessandro to Thomas Rain Crowe. “'The poet is the Thief of Fire' said Rimbaud, and these poems and prose poems are filled with the fire of a young poet whose work runs the gamut from, 'the history and the passion of my people and my times, to the ultimate goal of poetry, the anarchy of language.' He [James Dalessandro] has been involved in the largest poetry readings ever staged on the West Coast (or anywhere), and his readings have begun to draw enormous attention from audiences. Dalessandro puts the language through its paces like a man who is determined to write with the hand of a master, and there is passion and profane honesty in these poems, as well as satire that would have done justice to the great Lenny Bruce. 'Truth without style is nothing' said Charles Bukowski, and there is style enough here to establish him as one of the most powerful young poets in some time” (from Back Cover copy). Offered here is an early book of verse by James [Jim] Dalessandro, who founded and ran the Santa Cruz Poetry Festival and wrote poetry that was oral in nature & intensely influenced by the great Charles Bukowski (1920-1994). This volume, which evinces the influence of Bukowski alongside several other mid-century American poetic luminaries, certainly helped establish Dalessandro as one of the premier voices of the “state-spanning symbiotic syndicate” that was the Second San Francisco Renaissance. From the archive of Thomas Rain Crowe, the legendary American poet and co-authorial founder of the Second San Francisco Renaissance. For more information on the Thomas Rain Crowe archive (assembled & curated by Third Mind Books), see our book, Starting from San Francisco: Thomas Rain Crowe in Conversation with Third Mind Books (Item No. 3071) & the catalog for the Crowe archive (Item No. 1010), which contains several excerpts and quotations from the book as well as a full listing of the archive’s contents, which are now being offered for sale individually on the Third Mind Books site. Trade-format softcover original: First Edition, First Printing, though not indicated as such on copyright page. This copy is additionally inscribed & signed by the noted Santa Cruz poet to Thomas Rain Crowe, the co-authorial founder of the Second San Francisco Renaissance. Dalessandro’s signature, in thin, black felt pen ink, reads: “To Tom Dawson — / A great poet / + / friend — / Jim Dalessandro.” Also, for readers who don't know: "Dawson" is TRC's last name at birth, as he officially changed his last name to Crowe at the end of his San Francisco residency, when he returned to his home state of North Carolina (where he still resides as of this writing). In Fair-Good condition with mild-to-enunciated shelf-wear to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers & spine-edge; a few scattered, low-visibility nicks/scuffs & some light-to-moderate rubbing to front, back covers at select locales & light-to-moderate age-toning throughout; other than this there is some contained, non- mold-stained water damage to bottom right-hand corner / bottommost fine-edge of text block running through length of the first ten or so pages of the volume. The resulting bleed affects Dalessandro’s signature, but not the accompanying inscription as referred to, above. Fair-Good. [Item #7294]

Price: $40.00