Various (Ashbery, John; Barthes, Roland; Bowles, Paul; Cage, John; Masson, Andre; Rauschenberg, Robert et al.)

Art and Literature 3 (Autumn-Winter 1964)

Lausanne, Switzerland: Société Anonyme d'Editions Littéraires et Artistiques, 1964. First Edition, First Printing. Softcover. "A man who lived in a distant town of the southern country was working in his garden." (opening line, "The Garden," pg. 240). This vintage third number of the literary & arts journal co-edited by the canonical American poet John Ashbery (1927-2017) features a contribution ("The Garden," pgs. 240-243; Miller C652, pg. 167) by American composer, author, and translator Paul Bowles (1910-1999). “The Garden”, a fable, postulates an inherent conflict between Islamic religious orthodoxy and the order and beauty wrought by individual creative expression. When the gardener declares that his self-reliance and hard work and not divine intervention is the source of the garden's beauty, the local imam mobilizes the local community against him. He is stoned and beaten to death by the villagers as a heretic. The desert encroaches on the garden, leaving it a wasteland, a metaphor reflecting the cultural sterility and stagnation in a world that continually seeks to destroy art. The story serves to challenge the moral legitimacy of established religion, in this case Islam. Also in this issue are contributions by Ashbery, Roland Barthes (1915-1980), John Cage (1912-1992), Andre Masson (1896-1987), Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008) & many more most-honored Greats. For more from Bowles, please see Item No.s 4489, 4961, 5295 et al. We have found & retained, between pg. 60-61, an original french-language subscription card in as new condition. From the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), our esteemed mate in the UK who managed the fabled Unicorn Bookshop in Brighton, England for founder 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 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 treasures of Unicorn & Public House, some of which have become the stuff of myth. Trade-Format Softcover in Sewn Binding: first (& likely only) printing though not explicated as such at copyright pages, per publication customs. A scarce literary-art collectible of very special interest to hard-core completist Bowles fans in its rarest contemporary form, with relevant association & very distinguished provenance. In relatively fine condition with mild-to-moderate age-toning, rubbing & spot-staining to front, back covers, spine & flaps; mild chipping to fine edges of same; mild-to-moderate age-toning, rubbing & spot-staining to text block. Interior fine with mild age-toning mostly to blank margins & fine edges of pages leaves; mild bumping to corners of same; some occasions of spot-staining. Fine. [Item #8552]

Price: $60.00