Coleman, Victor

One Eye Love

Toronto, Ontario, Canada: The Coach House Press, 1967. Limited First Printing. Softcover. "Of all the biographical instances in my/life those contained by the poems herein/ are the ones most worthy of comment... My poems were mostly given, maybe/even dictated to me. I don't want to own/them or their portent/ They are, by their nature, subversive./They are, by their nature, of light." (inside front cover) Victor Coleman (b.1944) was named by John Sinclair as one of the three strongest poets of his generation, alongside Robin Eichele and Ron Caplan. In an article he wrote for the Fifth Estate regarding a festival in which they all three gave readings, Sinclair called the three, “his contemporaries in every sense of the word.” (1966) He is also recognized as one of the major contributors to the boom in Canadian small-press publishing in the mid to late 20th century. He was largely self-taught and held positions at larger presses to gain access to the publishing world. That led to editorship at Coach House Press, from 1965 to 1974. This volume was published during that period. He calls many of his poems “conventional lyrics” but this collection features text-art, oulipian-style poetry, and many other unconventional styles. Per the Canadian Encyclopedia’s biography on Coleman, “Coleman`s later work includes further Coach House Press/Coach House Books titles like his selected poems, “Corrections” (1985), and the sequence “Letter Drop” (2000). As his career has progressed, Coleman's books have tended to be thematic collections centred around specific formal requirements or ideas.” Coleman also has a long history teaching creative writing and theatre at Queen’s University and York University in Canada. For more by Victor Coleman see item #7404, and 7411 From the collection of Robin Eichele (b. 1941), a noted Mimeograph-Revolutionary poet who co-founded the Detroit Artists' Workshop with the legendary John Sinclair (1941-2024) during 1964, & is our nearby friend. Softcover limited first edition, #360 of 500 numbered copies as stated at the colophon. In relatively good- to-near-fine condition; age-toning, minor tearing, and grease marks to front and back covers; rubbing and creasing present on same. Dog earring and tearing are more significant on the top edge of the back cover. Slight cracking to spine, significant age-toning to page block. The interior is in very fine condition, with only slight age toning to pages. Good-Near Fine. [Item #7413]

Price: $30.00