Costanzo, Igor

I Wish to be Light

Berkeley, CA: Marimbo, 2005. First Edition. Inscribed, Signed, and Dated by Jack Hirschman to Thomas Rain Crowe. “I’m pleased to introduce this young Italian poet to an American audience. Igor Costanzo, at just 25 years of age, reveals a natural ease with the development of the forms of contemporary poetry to exhale a wonderful lyricism of imagery, i.e., ‘rib of moon / relic of Adam, / Diana’s vagina / frozen canto / of a dying nymph…’ in which there is both magic transformations of metaphor as well as a usage of ancient myth and modern language that, while being a measure of many young poets, is made into authentic fusions of past and present that resonate with vivid beauty in Costanzo’s hands. His themes, of love, death, struggle and the immersion of self into journey through the seasons of the soul, are standard for many young poets. The difference with Costanzo is that his variations of form to express that journey–his use of both longer forms and the quintessential haiku and short lyrics–, give his work an orchestrated, structural dimension that is unusual for so young a poet. One can feel the influences upon his sensibility–the perennial Pasolini, Lorca, Novalis–but without an imitation of them. That is, a singular voice is in motion in this book…”--Jack Hirschman, “introduction.” Offered today is the 2005 breakout collection of poetry, I Wish to be Light by Italian poet Igor Costanzo (b. 1980), and translated from Italian into English by the legendary Second San Francisco Renaissance/Baby Beat Generation poet-titan, Jack Hirschman (1933–2021). A poet since 2000, Costanzo found himself as the assistant to Francesco Conz (1935–2010), eccentric collector of the avant-garde and founder/curator of Casa Museo, a ‘secret museum’ in the village of Cappella Fasani, north of Verona. While Conz’s assistant, Costanzo was a burgeoning poet, incandescent with raw talent and insatiable in his artistic pursuits, and indeed it was Conz who introduced Hirschman to Constanzo, of which Hirschman says the following in his introduction: “I first met Igor through his (and now my) dear friend, the extraordinary archivist of the Fluxus movement, Francesco Conz, three years ago. Francesco had told me of a young poet who showed a great deal of promise and he wanted me to have a look at Igor’s manuscript. Lawrence Ferlinghetti also had glowing words to say of Igor’s work. Usually, I am hesitant to translate books I myself have not personally discovered, but Igor’s manuscript has about it the refreshing feeling of a lyricism that is not about to turn into prose (as many young poets–after their first book–surrender to). That sense of lyric luminescence–amid the dismays and despairs of youthful engagement–convinced me that there will be much more from Costanzo in the years ahead. And so I am happy to have translated and now to present this founding book of that poetic future.” Hirschman’s translation of I Wish to be Light not only unlocked a new audience for the nascent poet, but also managed to secure Costanzo a set of Beat bonafides that few poets outside of the scene rarely get. I Wish to be Light is inventive, sends up to its inspirations, is experimental, and manages to stay rooted in contemporary forms while managing to play with them as well. Inscribed and signed at title page in thin black in by Jack Hirschman: “For Tom and Nan, / comradely, / Jack. / July 22, 2005.” From the archive of Thomas Rain Crowe, scholar, writer and member of the Baby Beat Generation. 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 #3071) & the catalog for the Crowe archive (see item #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 stapled wrappers. First edition though not explicated as such at copyright page, presumed first printing though not explicated thereon. In very fine condition with only minimal wear to fine edges, slight rusting at staples, and very minor staining/smudging to front and back covers. Very Fine. [Item #7505]

Price: $30.00