Boer, Charles; Olson, Charles; Glover; Albert

Charles Olson in Connecticut with: Ephemera

ISBN: 0804006490
Chicago, IL: Swallow Press, 1975. First Edition. Hardcover. From the collection of Albert glover, with his ownership signature, date, commentary, marginalia & ephemera. "No American since Ezra Pound has done as much to change the face of poetry in (the USA) as has Charles Olson (1910-1970). His unlimited energy and intelligence "staggered" his contemporaries (as William Carlos Williams said) or left them furiously perplexed by the unorthodox demands of his imagination. Famed for his revolutionary essay, "Projective Verse," Charles Olson opened up one of the most controversial dimensions of modern poetry. The stature of his achievement as the author of the three-volume Maximus Poems, as well as his many essays on literature, history, and mythology mark him as one of the major poets of (the twentieth) century. But it is the personal side of the poet that Charles Boer presents in this extraordinary book about the final months of Olson's life. With candor, and even exasperation at times, Boer shows us the Olson he knew as friend and mentor, beginning with Olson's surprise visit to Connecticut in September of 1969, as well as the earlier years in Buffalo, and the final days in New York Hospital." (from front flap) An intensive biography focusing on the last months in the life of Charles Olson, the canonical & highly influential American Black Mountain School-&-Beyond Poet's-Poet whose dense & allusive works make him our favorite Maximus Obscurantist- a one-man cult we can't get out of our heads. Author Charles Boer (1939-2014) was an acclaimed American poet, author, translator & academician at the University of Connecticut who first met, befriended & was mentored by Olson at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo during the mid-1960s. Olson honored/subjected Boer with intense literary-scholarly interactions beginning with his sudden appearance in Connecticut & culminating with his deathbed appointment of Boer as his literary executor just several months later. The short but significant saga of Boer's deputization as Olson's acolyte-nursemaid is depicted here in riveting detail. With photographs of Olson holding forth (uncredited but presumably by Boer) at frontispiece and following text. Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket, first edition, first printing both as stated at copyright page. From the collection of Albert Glover (b. 1942), the foremost still-living authority on Olson who studied under & was anointed by the Maximus Master himself at the same time/place as Boer, his distinguished colleague & friend. At upper margin of blank recto front endpaper, Glover has written his ownership signature & date in bold black ink: "(signed) Glover/ 8 Jan(uary) '76." there follows, in blue ink with the final word extending to verso, the following cursively hand-written statement (as far as we can decipher it): "Bought and read/ in one day/ -a wonderful/ book, that/ presents Mr./ Olson fully./ I shall write/ to congratulate/ Boer, and ask/ him to sign my// copy." (Boer's signature is not to be found here, apparently Glover didn't get around to obtaining it) Additionally, Glover has hand-written marginalia in bold black ink at several pages, including brackets, asterisks of key passages & most importantly written commentary esp. at pg. 119 with personal confirmations/insights on Olson & his work. And, between pgs. 56-57, we found & have retained a card with presumably Glover's hand-written cursive notes on this volume in black ink, on both sides. An essential, most-evocative & insightful, rich & rewarding Olson-related collectible in its rarest contemporary form; inestimably enhanced with Glover's extensive commentary, marginalia, ephemera & with the highest, most relevant possible association & provenance. Book in relatively fine-to-very-fine condition with a touch of rubbing to red-cloth front, back covers & spine; light wear, fading & a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same; slight loss of mostly-intact lettering at spine; light rubbing & mild-to-moderate spotting to edges of text block. Interior very fine, appearing all-but-substantially mint with only tiny bumps at corners of a few page leaves. Ephemera very fine, appearing substantially mint. Dust jacket (again relatively) near-fine-to-fine with light rubbing, faint scratching, light creasing & a bit of age-toning to front, back covers, spine & flaps; mostly light wear & some tiny bumps, creases at/from edges & corners of same; one shallow chip at upper edge/corners of spine with slight loss of paper. Fine-Very Fine / Near Fine- Fine. [Item #8327]

Price: $50.00