Hirschman, Jack (Barnes, Djuna)

Elixeevitan: A Memoir of Djuna Barnes

Dover, DE, USA: Bottle of Smoke Press, 2012. Limited First Edition. Sewn Binding. Signed by Jack Hirschman to Thomas Rain Crowe, his apprentice, friend & the co-authorial Founder of the Second San Francisco Renaissance. "I want to say a few words about Djuna Barnes, the poet who died in 1982 in New York City at the age of ninety, since her masterwork, Nightwood, is probably one of the most powerful books written in this century. I did not know Djuna Barnes. As a student of her work, I wrote to her through the years but always received a terse and non-committal response, as if a literary project about her work was unimportant." (pg. 1, unpaginated) Jack Hirschman (1933-2021), co-founder of the Baby Beat Generation and the former poet laureate of San Francisco, was greatly impacted by Barnes' Nightwood (Faber & Faber, 1950), her debut novel which recounts a passionate, years-long love-affair and the heartbreak that resulted (see our item #6191). Championed by T.S. Eliot as an editor at Faber & Faber, the novel was one of the earliest examples of 20th century queer feminist literature. Hirschman's "memoir" of Djuna Barnes is his attempt to better understand the deeper person behind the fascinating writer who he calls "a philosopher-poet." Hirschman muses on his admiration for Barnes and his experiences that he relates to the profound words she penned. Published in 2012 when Hirschman was nearly 80-years-old, he was clearly as sharp as ever as he reflected on his lifetime and the lessons that guided him. This particular copy is presumably one of the one hundred copies in sewn wraps, though there is no number present, making this most likely a presentation copy that Hirschman gifted to Thomas Rain Crowe. The inscription found on the title page in thick, black marker reads, "For Tom and Nan / with my dearest best wishes / love and solidarity / Always, / (signed) Jack / Jan. 21, 2013" with a smidge of sloppy scribbling due to the marker fading and the message being retraced with a newer one. There's also a tilde (~) added above the printed letter "X" in the title, implying his original intention for the mysterious portmanteau title though this symbol is not used in any language except for math in which it represents the median of a data set. "Elix" could be reference to "elixir", as in a magical or medicinal substance, "vita" is the latin word for "life", and the "-an" suffix implies the word is an adjective in essence. I'll leave it to you to interpret the combination and its meaning. 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. Chapbook in sewn wrappers: limited first edition, as stated at colophon, "This first edition is limited to an edition of 136 copies: 100 sewn in wraps (Numbered 1-100), 26 lettered hardcovers (letters A-Z) signed by Jack Hirschman & 10 deluxe hardcovers (numbered un-dix)..." In relatively very fine condition with minimal bumping to the fine edges and corners of wrappers; one small bend/crease to upper right corner of back cover; interior is clean.  . Very Fine. [Item #7314]

Price: $150.00