Valaoritis, Nanos

My Afterlife Guaranteed

ISBN: 0872862488
San Francisco, CA: City Lights Books, 1990. First Edition. Softcover. “We live in a state of complete clairvoyance if I can judge from the few examples I have - we communicate across immense empty distances that would frighten any explorer. We arrive precisely at the same conclusion without calculation - without any planned trajectory. We are mathematically identical and psychically equivalent to a mysterious missile that cannot be placed in the usual category of giant earthly projectiles. We have been running on parallel lines since birth - every time one exists the other exists too - the devil or the angel. Every time Pleasure shows up we greet her as a beautiful stranger” (from “Who We Are,” pp. 9-10). My Afterlife Guaranteed is a book of poems by the great Greek Surrealist, Nanos Valaoritis (1921-2019) which was notably published by Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s (1919-2021) City Lights Booksellers & Publishers in 1990. While we at TMB have limited experience with the poetry and legacy of Valaoritis, a Friend of the Store, the American poet, Steve Brooks, studied with Nanos — and in our book on Thomas Rain Crowe [b. 1949] & the Second San Francisco Renaissance, Starting from San Francisco: Thomas Rain Crowe in Conversation with Third Mind Books (Item No. 3071), we quote Brooks in conversation with TRC on the topic of Nanos. While just one part of a lengthier quote, the following excerpt as authored by Brooks is worth reading in full: "Nanos talked about Domestic Poetry, which he said was of most interest only to those who it addressed. He told the story of the telegram delivered to a woman at home announcing the death of her husband, who she knew was sitting alive in the back room, right then. The postman then recognized his error and took the letter across the street to the correct address and the woman who answered burst into tears. The first woman felt the power of the message, but she knew it was not for her. That story stuck with me and made me vigilant about the direction of my own work” (p. 193). That was the kind of poet and educator Nanos was, and it is easy to see from his work and this anecdote why the man was so beloved. Furthermore, it is unsurprising that the great Lawrence Ferlinghetti — whose own flair for the surreal is well-documented — would find joy and facility coupled uniquely in Valaoritis’ work. This slim collection from 1990 is a phenomenal gateway into the world of Nanos’ verse and the wider Greek surrealist modality. 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, though not explicated as such on copyright page. (Cook 230, pg. 262) In very fine condition with only slightest shelf-wear & near-microscopic instances of light bumping to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers & spine-edge, otherwise pristine. Very Fine. [Item #7319]

Price: $25.00