Breiding, Sutton

Broadside: San Francisco

San Francisco, CA: Fugitive Press, 1975. First Edition, Single Sheet. "Now in the surge of demon progress, | you more & more become a tomb, | filled with drunken zombies | with hordes of modern vampires | sucking the dreams from your blood, | leaving but a husk | corrupt & floundering | in its own senescence" (fourth stanza). A broadside (appx. 8.5" x 14") with the evocative and cynical title poem by Sutton Breiding (b. 1950). The West Virginian writer of weird poetry moved to San Francisco in 1968 and finally left back to West Virginia in 1986 (staying ten years longer than he weanted to, as this poem suggests). Obviously he has mixed feelings about his tenure in the "Gay Bay" and expressed them freely here. A simple and unassuming production, presumed first & only printing. From the archive of Thomas Rain Crowe (b. 1949), the acclaimed American poet who was at the center of the Baby Beat Generation/ San Francisco Renaissance during the 1970s. The TRC archive was acquired, assembled & curated by Third Mind Books as a single item (see our item No. 1010), & its vast number of individual pieces are now being offered incrementally throughout this new year of 2025. The TRC archive collectively represents the entire legacy of the BBG/SSFR, & its critical collaborations-mentorships by the 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 TRC himself. A scarce Breiding collectible; a wonderful showcase that brilliantly balances and expresses the love and disdain the poet has for San Francisco; with distinguished & relevant provenance. In relatively fine-to-very-fine condition with only some mild to moderate age-toning chiefly at thin edges & corners; a hint of wear & a few tiny bumps, creases at edges especially lower left edge/corner, two creases from left to right of page indicating it was folded. Fine-Very Fine. [Item #7704]

Price: $40.00