Various (Phillips, William (Editor); Rahv, Philip (Editor); Bellow, Saul; Camus, Albert; Greenberg, Clement; Hardwick, Elizabeth; Roethke, Theodore et al.)

Partisan Review Vol. XVI No. 11 (November 1949)

New York, NY, USA: Added Enterprises, 1949. First Printing. Softcover. "I am an American, Chicago born- Chicago, that sombre city- and go at things as I have taught myself, free-style, and will make the record in my own way: first to knock, first admitted; sometimes an innocent knock, sometimes a not so innocent. But a man's character is his fate, says Heraclitus, and in the end there isn't any way to disguise the nature of the knocks by acoustic work on the door or gloving the knuckles." (Saul Bellow, "From The Life of Augie March," first sentences, pg. 1077) This vintage 1949 number of the prestigious American literary journal chiefly edited by William Phillips & Philip Rahv features an excerpt from what would become the acclaimed & award-winning novel by the canonical author Saul Bellow (1915-2005) four years later, The Adventures of Augie March (1953). Interestingly, the slightly different title ends with an asterisk for this footnote: "This is the first chapter of a novel entitled "Life Among the Machiavellians." Also in this issue are contributions of prose, poetry & criticism by such eminent twentieth-century literary & cultural figures as the French Founding Father of Existentialism Albert Camus; the dyspeptic, then all-powerful contemporary art critic Clement Greenberg; Elizabeth Hardwick; Theodore Roethke & more. With deep reviews, contemporary ads. Trade-format softcover, presumed first-&-only printing, complete with loose subscription card found & retained between pgs. 1140-1141, in fine condition with only moderate age-toning & a bit of edge/corner wear. From the collection of Laurence Goldstein (1943-2023), a renowned American poet, author, film critic, editor & academician here at the University of Michigan. A very rich & rewarding time capsule of an issue in this most-collectible series, of special interest to the Bellow devotee, in its singularly rarest contemporary form & with distinguished provenance. In relatively good-to-near-fine condition with mild-to-moderate rubbing, age-toning, fading, mostly faint scratching, spotting & occasional spot-staining to front, back covers & esp. spine; light wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same; significant rubbing, fading, age-toning & wear at spine incl. chipping at edges/corners with minor loss of paper, exposure to binding; moderate rubbing, age-toning, faint scratching & occasional spotting to edges of text block. Interior (again relatively) fine with moderate age-toning & occasional spotting to inner covers; mild age-toning to page leaves chiefly at blank margins/edges; tiny bumps & small, faint creases at corners of some leaves. Good-Near Fine. [Item #7552]

Price: $45.00