Schelling, Andrew; Waldman, Anne (Jacobs, Brian)

Caterina and The Countess of Dia

Boulder, CO: Kavyayantra Press, 1994. First Edition. Sewn Binding. Signed by Andrew Schelling & Anne Waldman, & additionally inscribed by Waldman to Brian Jacobs. “Chicken in mole sauce negro / flaming red peppers and roasted chocolate / it was the / 17th century / or Cafe Tecuba at the / end of our own — / a drink to Caterina / — twelve year old Moghul princess from Delhi / seized off Malabar coastline / by pirates / perfume of mango & coconut / spicing the offshore wind / — & sold in Manila / the open market. / Her new owners / transport her to Acapulco in chains / — tossed by waves in the ship’s hold / her terror — / where a savagely pious couple from Puebla puts down / some money / & presses the strange girl / into religious training…”--Andrew Schelling, first several stanzas of “From The Road to Ocosingo.” Offered today is the 1995 collaborative poem Caterina and the Countess of Dia by Anne Waldman (b. 1945) and Andrew Schelling (b. 1954). Put together at the 20th anniversary of Naropa and the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, where Waldman and Schelling were both teachers, Caterina and the Countess of Dia is composed of two poems: a selection from The Road to Ocosingo (1998) by Schelling, and a section from Iovis II (1997). The great Anne Waldman has been an active member of what she terms the “outrider” experimental poetry community for more than four decades. She has written more than 60 books, including Fast Speaking Woman (2001), published by City Lights Books; Bard, Kinetic (Coffee House Press, 2022); and Vow to Poetry (Coffee House Press, 2001). She is the author of selected poetry editions, including Helping the Dreamer (Coffee House Press, 1989), Kill or Cure (Penguin Books, 1994), and In the Room of Never Grieve (Coffee House Press, 2008). Schelling is a poet, translator from the poetry of India, essay writer, and editor of anthologies. Before arriving at Naropa University he was active in the Bay Area with a community of experimental writers, Zen practitioners, and wilderness advocates. He came to the Jack Kerouac School in 1990, and began teaching Sanskrit language for the Department of Religious Studies shortly after. Among his twenty-five published titles are, most recently, a poetry collection The Facts at Dog Tank Spring; a folkloric volume regarding language, bohemian poets, and wilderness, Tracks Along the Left Coast; and three volumes of translated poetry from Shambhala Publications. His anthologies include Love and the Turning Seasons: India’s Poetry of Spiritual & Erotic Longing. Caterina and The Countess of Dia was put together by students (particularly Brian Jacobs), at the Kavyayantra Press during his time at Naropa. A wonderful, rare artifact from Naropa at a time where the institution was brimming with the greatest poets of the last century. From the collection of Brian Jacobs (b. 1969) who, in 1994, had just begun his attendance at the Kerouac School/Naropa University (then Naropa Institute), & was beginning his studies with Ginsberg, Anne Waldman (the very co-founders of the School) et al. Later during his sojourn at Naropa of 1994-1996, Jacobs would become Ginsberg's official assistant. Since those heady days of Beat Anointment in the 1990s, Jacobs has gone on to become a most-distinguished author, publisher & academician, a True Beat Progeny who now resides here in Ann Arbor & is our good friend & colleague. We have been privileged to obtain Jacobs' stellar collection, highlights of which, including this especially lofty gem, are the exclusive focus of this group of New Arrivals. Numbered and signed by both authors at copyright page; additionally inscribed by Anne Waldman to Brian Jacobs in thin black ink at title page: “For Brian Jacobs / With love & / Gratitude!” Chapbook in sewn binding: Limited first edition, this volume is #8 of 124 numbered copies (following the 26 lettered copies) as indicated at copyright page. Chapbook in very fine condition with only minor wear to fine edges, and slight fading due to age. Very Fine. [Item #8575]

Price: $125.00