Blue Cloud, Peter

The Other Side of Nowhere: Contemporary Coyote Tales with: Ephemera

ISBN: 1877727008
Fredonia, NY: White Pine Press, 1990. First Edition. Softcover. Inscribed, signed & dated by Peter Blue Cloud to Thomas Rain Crowe; & with ephemera signed/endorsed by Crowe & Blue Cloud. "'Coyote, how did it all begin?"// It was beyond night or even the concept of night. It was a blackness so dense that it swallowed all else./ There was a howling beyond the puny sound of storms,/ and yet there was a silence as vast as death./ I was being sucked into the center of this blackness,/ not tumbling or turning, for I had become/ the particles of my own composition./ It was as if the Creation were inhaling/ all that was ever born in its mind." ("The Other Side of Nowhere," first line & stanza, pg. 1) A collection of poems, prose-poems & stories by Peter Blue Cloud (Aroniawenrate, 1933-2011), the esteemed & award-winning Native American/ First (Mowhawk) Nation Canadian poet-folklorist. With illustrations at front cover & throughout by Blue Cloud. Trade-format softcover original, first edition, "First Printing, 1990" as stated at copyright page, complete with publisher's catalog solicitation card placed between pgs. 14-15, in perfect condition. On front endpaper/ shorter title page, Blue Cloud has hand-written, signed & dated: "For an old friend/ Thomas Rain Crowe/ (signed) Peter Blue Cloud/ Sept. 15 (19)94/ -Kahnawake." Thomas Rain Crowe (b. 1949) is the acclaimed American poet who was at the center of the Baby Beat Generation/ Second San Francisco Renaissance during the 1970s. This volume is from the Thomas Rain Crowe archive which was acquired, assembled & catalogued by Third Mind Books as a single item (see our item No. 1010), & its individual pieces are now being curated & offered incrementally throughout this year of 2025. The TRC archive collectively represents the entire legacy of the BBG/SSFR, & its critical collaborations-mentorships with key figures of the original Beat Generation/ San Francisco Renaissance. See also Starting From San Francisco (item No. 3071), published by TMB, to obtain a thorough understanding of this important literary phenomenon from Crowe himself. Blue Cloud is referenced in several instances within SFSF- Crowe was highly influenced by Native American culture & folklore since childhood, & even changed his name from Dawson. Crowe & Blue Cloud were close friends & colleagues. We found & have retained, between inner front cover & endpaper, a most-interesting & rare piece of ephemera: A cancelled check dated "9/22 1994" (only a week after inscription described above) from TRC to Blue Cloud, in payment for "books & tapes" as written on memo line, made out & signed by Crowe, with Blue Cloud's endorsement signature & hand-written address on verso above bank deposit/cancellation stamps, also in excellent condition. An essential & rewarding Blue Cloud collectible in its rarest contemporary form, greatly enriched with his warm inscription, signature & date fairly close to publication, & with most-distinguished & relevant association & provenance. In very fine condition with only a touch of rubbing, mostly faint scratching to front, back covers & spine; some tiny bumps, creases at/from edges & corners of same; very slight rubbing, faint spotting to edges of text block. Interior very fine with only tiny bumps & small, faint creases at mostly lower corners of page leaves. Very Fine. [Item #7461]

Price: $85.00