Harwood, Lee

Monster Masks

Durham, England: Pig Press, 1985. First Trade Edition. Softcover. Inscribed & signed by Lee Harwood to Richard Cupidi. “The sheer readability of Lee Harwood’s story-teller art is often at odds with the intensity and complexities of his subjects – so that the fragmentary and open-ended narratives (by now a familiar hallmark of his work) lead us easily and very rapidly towards sudden gaps, where we stare into the ‘heart of the matter’. And the heart in this work is a core of warmth and humanity rare in contemporary poetry.” (from back cover) This mid-career piece by major postwar British poet & noted mimeograph revolutionary Lee Harwood (1939-2015) collects his work between 1977 and 1983, and as the back cover states, “serves as a sequel” to his “Crossing the Frozen River: Selected Poems 1965 to 1980,” which was published the same year by Tombouctou Books. A key figure in the British Poetry Revival of the 1960s and 70s, Harwood was a member of the Beat scene in England, was influenced early in his career by the New York School of poetics, and was associated with Bob Cobbing (1920 – 2002) and the Writers Forum. Harwood moved in 1967 to Brighton and would spend much of the rest of his life there. That move, ultimately, is likely how we came upon this copy, as it is from the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), who managed the fabled Unicorn Bookshop in Brighton with Bill Butler (1934-1977, the legendary American-expatriate poet, publisher & bookseller). 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 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 which is also now closed, & he still resides there. We have been honored to obtain what Cupidi has termed "The Last Hurrah," all the remaining gems of Unicorn & Public House such as this. Harwood has signed the copyright page: “For Richard | with love. | (Signature) Lee | monster spaghetti | cook | etc.” Trade-format softcover. First Trade Edition, though not stated as such at copyright page. In Fine condition with moderate rubbing and scratching to front, back covers & spine; some tiny bumps & minor creases to edges & corners of same. Interior Fine with light staining to front endpaper. Fine. [Item #8494]

Price: $60.00