Snyder, Gary

The Real Work: Interviews & Talks 1964-1979 with: Ephemera

ISBN: 0811207609
New York, NY, USA: New Directions, 1980. First Edition. Hardcover. Signed by Gary Snyder, & with original photograph of Snyder signing a book. "The Real Work is the second volume of Gary Snyder's prose to be published by New Directions. Where his earlier Earth House Hold (1969) heralded the tribalism of the "coming revolution," the interviews in The Real Work focus on the living out of that revolution in a particular place and time- the Sierra Nevada foothills of Northern California in the 1970s. The "work" to which the Pulitzer Prize winning poet now calls us is, simply, "What is to be done": application to learning the ways of the place where one finds oneself; discipline in mastering skills and "appropriate" technology; dedication to the preservation of the community of humans, plants, animals, and minerals of the bioregion." (from front flap) A volume of transcribed interviews with & talks by Gary Snyder (b. 1930), the canonical Beat Generation/ San Francisco Renaissance poet & environmentalist who is still with us & active at almost 95 years old as of this writing. Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket, first edition, first printing "First published clothbound and as New Directions Paperbook 499/ in 1980" as stated at copyright page. An exemplary production of James Laughlin's fabled imprint. On the title page, just above & slightly overlapping with his printed name, Snyder has hand-written his beautiful signature in bold black ink. From the archive of Thomas Rain Crowe (b. 1949), the acclaimed American poet who was at the center of the Baby Beat Generation/ Second San Francisco Renaissance during the 1970s- see our item No. 3071, Starting From San Francisco, published by Third Mind Books. The TRC archive was acquired, assembled & curated by TMB as a single item (see our item No. 1010), & collectively represents the entire legacy of the BBG/SSFR & its critical collaborations & mentorships with the primary members of the original Beat Generation/ San Francisco Renaissance. The vast amount of individual items in the TRC archive are now being offered incrementally throughout this new year of 2025. Among the foremost Beat mentors to Crowe & his group was Snyder, who presided over his "Kuksu" community during this period, as precisely described in this volume. Snyder is referred to extensively by Crowe in SFSF, with anecdotes that directly overlap with what Snyder discusses here. We found & have retained, between front paste-down & endpaper, an original undated developed color photograph (remember those?) depicting Snyder signing one of his books at a book-signing event, undoubtedly taken by his protege Crowe as he waited for this very signature- while undated, we surmise from Snyder's appearance that it was taken a decade or more after the publication of this volume, circa 1990-2000. An essential Snyder collectible that illuminates a crucial period of his poetic, philosophical & cultural evolution; in its rarest contemporary form & greatly enriched by Snyder's signature & his original image, & with highly distinguished & most-relevant association & provenance. Book in relatively fine-to-very-fine condition with mild-to-moderate fading at/near edges & corners of green cloth front, back covers & spine; moderate spotting to upper edges & corners of same; moderate browning, spotting & light rubbing to upper & side edges of text block (hardly any at lower edge of same). Interior fine-to-very fine with only a hint of browning, occasional spotting to blank paste-downs, endpapers & page leaves (the latter chiefly at blank thin edges/margins); Crowe's marginalia (checkmarks, underlinings, occasional words) in pencil at a few pages (which we view as a further enhancement from a learned source). Dust jacket (again relatively) fine-to-very-fine with only mild rubbing, browning & faint scratching to front, back covers, spine & flaps; slight wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same; one very small bump with slight loss of surface paper from upper left edge of back cover. Fine-Very Fine / Fine-Very Fine. [Item #7325]

Price: $125.00