Emanuel, Lynn

Then, Suddenly: Poems

Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1999. First Edition. Hardcover. Inscribed, signed & dated by Lynn Emanuel to Dan Rzicznek. "This eagerly awaited third volume by the poet whose work The New York Times described as "at once charmed and frightening" is a book of high-spirited subversiveness, a work of argument, seduction, and a relentless devotion to language. Then, Suddenly- bristles with the sound of the author's voice- insistent, vital, hilarious, and iconoclastic- tearing away at the confinement of the page and at the distance between the page and the reader." (from back cover) A collection of poems by Lynn Emanuel (b. 1949), the highly acclaimed & prize-winning American poet & academician. In these poems & prose-poems as stated at front flap, "A reader and writer don their respective roles and embark on the journey of a book. This is their story—ultimately a love story—darkly funny, mournful, testy. It is about a reader who at times presides over the page like a god, and at other times follows the leash of the author's voice through the dark streets of the book like a dog, and it is about a writer of determined slipperiness." Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket, first edition, first printing as indicated by number sequence at copyright page. From the collection of Dan Rzicznek (b. 1979), a noted Ohio poet and professor at Bowling Green State University. On the title page, Emanuel has crossed-out her printed name & hand-written her signature below it in lighter-blue ink. Below title, she has hand-written, placed & dated in the same ink: "For Dan- Have a great time/ in Nankins'(?) Ferry(?)./ Kent, Ohio/ 2/11/03." A beautiful production; an essential, provocative & rewarding Emanuel collectible in its scarcest contemporary form, greatly enriched by her poet-to-poet inscription & signature, with distinguished & relevant provenance. Book in very fine condition with only some tiny marks at side edge of text block with miniscule bleeding onto side edges of a few page leaves (a minor flaw apparently as issued); otherwise appearing substantially mint inside & out. Dust jacket very fine with only a touch of rubbing, faint scratching to front, back covers, spine & flaps; a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same; previous seller's barcode-price sticker affixed to back cover at lower right area. Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #8084]

Price: $40.00