Berrigan, Ted

The Sonnets

New York, NY: Lorenz & Ellen Gude, 1964. First Edition, First Printing. Stapled Wrappers. Inscribed & signed by Ted Berrigan to the poet & noted mimeograph revolutionary, Lee Harwood. The debut volume of poetry by Ted Berrigan (1934-1983), the great American poet, publisher, and mimeograph revolutionary most closely affiliated with the “New York School” of poets. In 1978, while writing to Anne Waldman (b. 1945), Berrigan described the “technical achievement” of his Sonnets in the following terms: "My technical achievement in The Sonnets was to conceive [of] the sonnet as fourteen units of one line each. I don't think it had been done that way much before. I don't think it had been broken down much more than into two couplets, so I had a lot more variables to work with and a lot more possibilities of structures. It was just like cubism. I was totally influenced by what my take on cubism was. Take all those planes, put them flat up like this, and they're different. They go this way and then they don't. They turn into optical illusions,” the poet concludes. While much theorization could be done on Berrigan’s letter to Waldman, we will leave that job for the prospective acquirer of this listing, and here merely remind all who find themselves hovering over this page that The Sonnets is a singular masterwork of the Mimeograph Revolution. The theoretical depth and technical adeptness with which the work is executed speak to why the The Sonnets is still spoken of in hushed tones to this day. Scholars of the Mimeograph Revolution (and mid-century American avant-garde literature, writ large) need to commune with this work, eventually: so why not now? Get yourself a copy — whether it’s this one, the ultimate Berrigan rarity — or TMB Item Nos. 6262, or 8187; two slightly more affordable, though still highly collectible editions of Berrigan’s Sonnets. Whether you read it now or later, just remember it’s “on the syllabus,” as it were, and that what Wynton Marsalis said of Picasso also applies here: “You must go to it in order to get the benefits of it. We assure you’ll be happy that you did. From the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), our esteemed mate in the UK who managed the fabled Unicorn Bookshop in Brighton, England with Bill Butler (1934-1977, the famed American-expatriate bookseller & publisher). From the late 1960s through the early 1970s, Unicorn proffered & published many outstanding productions by William S. Burroughs, J.G. Ballard et al., some of which have become the scarcest, all-but-unobtainable Beat-&-Beyond collectibles (see an example with our item no. 8217). After prevailing against censorious harassment efforts, Unicorn closed & Butler died in short order. Cupidi went on to found the Public House Bookshop in Brighton, which had a long & successful run but is also now closed, & he still resides there. We have been honored to obtain what Cupidi has termed "The Last Hurrah," all the remaining treasures of Unicorn & Public House, some of which have become the stuff of myth.  Large-format chapbook in stapled wrappers: a true First Edition, First Printing of Berrigan’s eponymous debut. This copy is further enriched by its status as an association copy a second time over — a fact attested to by the presence of the poet’s signature & accompanying inscription[s], whose first part, composed in thin, blue pen ink, reads: “Ted Berrigan / For Lee Harwood,” and is preceded only by Berrigan’s provision of a strikethrough ‘over’ (or atop) his printed name. In the second part of the inscription, Berrigan provides another strikethrough, crossing out the printed attribution [“Lorenz & Ellen Gude”] beneath the words “PUBLISHED BY,” and writing in its place the name of the great Dadaist poet, playwright, & essayist, Tristan Tzara (1896-1963). This inscription — (the joking, ‘corrected’ attribution of ‘Tristan Tzara’ as publisher) — is purposeful, and refers to a particular collaborative episode in the publishing history of the Mimeograph Revolution: namely, Lee Harwood’s (1939-2015) work on, and contributions to the publications TZARAD and DARAZT. Both publications were [1] released in 1965 — the zenith of the Mimeograph Revolution — [2] involved Ted Berrigan (in whole or in part), & [3] emblemize the poets’ shared admiration for Tristan Tzara, the great Franco-Romanian Dadaist. Read rightly, then, these form two separate inscriptions: one is a ‘straightforward’ dedication and signature, while the other proceeds with reference to an existing literary friendship, & the collaborative history that accompanies it. In strong near fine condition with only mild-to-moderate shelf-wear, spotting, foxing, some light bumping, & select exhibits of generally mild bump-creasing to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers & spine-edge; mild-to-enunciated age-toning, rubbing, & the occasional use & age-based artifact, mostly similar in scope & expression to those listed above, present variously throughout; otherwise, clean. Near Fine. [Item #8262]

Price: $1,350.00