Dylan, Bob

XI(11) Outlined Epitaphs & Off the Top of My Head

London, England: Aloes Books, 1971. First Printing. Stapled Wrappers. “The process of redemption (teshuvah) for the Jewish soul is a long and arduous process, an amalgamation of good and evil, horror and joy, the walk between the abyss, the ‘narrow ridge,’ as Martin Buber phrased it. The mystery of be-ing [sic] (Form and Flow, dreams and revelations) is at the apex of the messianic hope for redemption and the work of Bob Dylan since 1964’s “Mr. Tambourine Man.” […] While a detailed analysis of Dylan’s Jewish vision of man is still incomplete (although, in my own work, and that of Anthony Scudato, a beginning has been precipitated), we can, in this short foreword, offer some important perspectives” (from “Foreword” by Stephen Pickering [b. 1947], p. 3). So reads an excerpt from the deeply intriguing foreword to XI Outlined Epitaphs & Off the Top of My Head, an incredibly rare bootlegged chapbook featuring works by and about the great American songwriter, Bob Dylan (b. 1941). Wrapped up in the essence and history of this item is the story of the Beat Generation and Mimeograph Revolution’s love for Bob Dylan: a man who famously inherited the Folk tradition from the likes of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger before turning it on its head; aggressively reinventing himself several times in the process. This connection is attested to by the fact that XI Outlined Epitaphs & Off the Top of My Head was printed & published by Aloes Books, the imprint our friend-&-colleague at the European Beat Studies Network (ebsn.eu) Jim Pennington founded during his own season — (decades, really) — of Small Press/Mimeograph Revolutionary involvement in London beginning in the early 1970s. Pennington’s imprint, remarkably, is still active today: though Jim no longer prints bootlegs that could get him in trouble like this, for the most part — that we know of, anyways; ha-ha. This chapbook features an introduction by the noted early Dylanologist & author, Stephen Pickering (b. 1947), which we quoted from liberally at the top of this curation. Pickering, — as it pertains to his contributions to Dylanology, — is known for the 1975 work, Bob Dylan Approximately: A Portrait of the Jewish Poet in Search of God. Interestingly, the foreword as published in this pamphlet, here predates Pickering’s long-form work on Dylan by four years. An explanation of this obscure chapbook’s contents is helpfully found on its FFEP, which we will now quote in full: “11 OUTLINED EPITAPHS appeared as liner / poetry to the TIMES THEY ARE A’ CHANGING / LP issued by Columbia in the USA. The / English issue appeared with only four of the / epitaphs, numbers 1, 2, 6 and 6,” — hence the necessity to publish them in totality before an English audience, as here. It continues: “OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD formed part / of the programme [sic] notes for the Newport / Folk Festival in 1965.” The 1965 Newport Folk Festival, of course, was the one in which Dylan infamously “went electric,” — one of those events in music history so debated and apocryphal that it virtually defies an accurate retelling. All told, the contents and history behind this chapbook make it a vital, elusive Dylan collectible that’s sure to spike in value in the coming years. From the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), our esteemed mate in the UK who managed the legendary Unicorn Bookshop in Brighton, England with Bill Butler (1934-1977, the famed American-expatriate poet, publisher & bookseller). From the late 1960s through the early 1970s, Unicorn proffered & published 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 for example our item No.s 8217, 8366). 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 rarities of Unicorn & Public House such as this. Third Mind Books is in the reverent process of incrementally curating & presenting the Butler-Cupidi-Unicorn-Public House Legacy that is in our custodial hands until it passes to yours. Chapbook in stapled wrappers: the first-&-only printing of this exceedingly rare Dylan bootleg. In strong good-to-near-fine condition with light-to-moderate shelf-wear, bumping to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers & spine-edge; one exhibit of slightly more enunciated bump-creasing present at bottom left-hand corner of front cover; mild-to-moderate rubbing & moderate-to-enunciated age-toning (yellowing, spotting, & artifacts similar) present, variously throughout; lastly, minute-to-moderate rusting to staples at exterior, but interior remains exceedingly clean. Good-Near Fine. [Item #8459]

Price: $625.00