Lamantia, Philip

Destroyed Works

San Francisco, CA: Auerhahn Press, 1962. First Trade Softcover Edition. Softcover. “For me it is the Vision in its density and the truth of what I see / the breath is in the Vision and I come to the rhythms it is above / all a question of MY VISION thru which the images are focused, / the beat in the activation of this energy field, hence the density, / that the Being of poetry erupts out of nerves emotions skeleton / muscles tongues eyes spirits beasts birds rockets typewriters / into my head and I see,the weir pivot, at that point all is / Evidence Clarity Incomprehension Flame of Perfect Form and Chaos” (“A Note on DESTROYED WORKS and later ”, from Destroyed Works). A remarkable early volume of poems by Philip Lamantia (1927-2005), a marquee Surrealist of the Beat Generation. Philip’s surrealism, in contrast to that of others with comparably less facility in the genre than he, was famously wide-ranging and dynamic. His subconscious mind was to be obeyed totally and directly as a poet — even to the point of theorizing himself into abandoning craft, altogether, and pursuing a poetic line based entirely in fragmentation, which he eventually did. Lamantia’s "chaos-based prosody," [or "Prosody of Chaos," both terms are his inventions] is unique in the Beat canon as it alienates him completely from several of his contemporaries, almost all of whom are grounded and eloquent modernists with their own innovations upon them. First among them in the mind of Your Devoted VP-of-Operations here at Third Mind Books is Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997), and if you compare side by side the poetical commentaries of Lamantia and Ginsberg after 1970, it is a wonder that Allen never gave Philip maximum shit for abandoning craft while at the very height of his powers. What is clear, however is that theorization of both Vision and Chaos as the great, attendant forces in the life of the universe was something that would disassemble and rematerialize, continuously throughout the poet’s life and career. In closing, this volume is central to establishing an advanced critical understanding of what’s going on in Lamantia’s work: and for this reason and several others, we encourage all serious collectors-&-readers of Beat Generation literature to make space for it in their personal collections & libraries. First Trade-format Softcover Edition: known alternately as the “First Trade Edition” [correctly], and as the “Second Edition” [incorrectly]. One of 1250 copies, per colophon — and published simultaneously — not prefatorily, as various low-information booksellers over the years have posited — with the numbered, signed, limited edition of 50 hardcover copies (printed “in black Bavaria cloth by the Schuberth Book / Bindery,” per colophon). That said, we wonder in what bookstores and attics the book’s 1250 copies have since languished: because there seems to be a hell of a lot less of them around, these days than that number would suggest. From the collection of Albert Glover (b. 1942), the great American scholar, bibliographer, author & publisher who is the foremost living authority on literary (& literal) Giant Charles Olson (our favorite Maximus Obscurantist), with whom we're honored to be acquainted. In strong near fine condition with generally mild-to-moderate rubbing, shelf-wear, & some light bumping to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers & spine-edge; lone, moderate-to-enunciated instance of bump-creasing, extending over a suite of contiguous pages near the end of the work present to/at top left-hand corner of back cover; & lastly, some generally mild age-toning present, throughout; otherwise, clean with interior unmarked. Near Fine. [Item #8131]

Price: $175.00