Jacobs, Brian (Schelling, Andrew)

Homocaust Vol. 1 with: Ephemera

ISBN: 9781958661208
Ann Arbor, MI: Tofu Ink Arts Press, 2025. First Edition, First Printing. Softcover. Inscribed & signed by Brian Jacobs, & with ephemera signed by Andrew Schelling. "Cypress had a Mervyns | a Del Taco | cows | strawberry crow'd fields| and no James Baldwin" (excerpt, "Rhizomatic Pilgrim: Discursive Youth," pg. 370). Homocaust Vol. 1 by American poet and educator Brian L. Jacobs (b. 1969) is a Rhizomatic poetic inquiry self published through Tofu Ink Arts Press in Ann Arbor, MI that explores diverse poetic acts based on a pilgrimage for peace halfway around the world taken by Jacobs with Buddhist monks and other pacifists in the late 1900s. The poem "Homocaust Pilgrimage," (pgs. 398-433) is a discursive narrative that mutates through exploring fractured memory, decolonizing the "self," Otherness, and romanticization of the Other. It also delves into the performances of queer identities and overlapping Rhizomatic voices in search for adventure. For those who don't know, Rhizomatic poetry is a form of poetry that embodies the principles of multiplicity, connection, and non-linearity, drawing from the philosophical concepts of rhizomes as articulated by French philosophers Gilles Deleuze (1925-1975) and Félix Guattari (1930-1992). In poetry, this multiplicity is evident in the way poets draw from everyday language, creating intertextual connections that resonate with broader societal themes. The poetic use of colloquial expressions serves as a bridge between the familiar and the artistic, allowing poets to critique social issues while remaining accessible to their audience. This practice aligns with the rhizomatic principle of connection, where the poet's voice becomes part of a larger conversation, tapping into a collective consciousness. In 1996, Andrew Schelling (b. 1953), American poet, translator and Naropa University professor, wrote a glowing professorial assessment (three pages stapled together, appx: 8" x 11" in very fine condition) of Jacobs' manuscript & thesis, and is included as ephemera for Homocaust. Schelling is one of the few renowned literary translators into American English of the poetry of ancient and medieval India, and offers a unique perspective of his Naropa protege's writing, ultimately saying "A fine, cohesive and very moving collection of writings here." This assement is invaluable as it shows the beginning stages of publishing "Homocaust" and how the process of publishing a book can be an arduous, time-consuming venture that can span decades. From the personal library of Brian Jacobs, the aforementioned distinguished author, publisher & educator who attended the fabled Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado during the 1990s, where he was the student of its co-founders Anne Waldman (b. 1945) & Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) & was appointed by Ginsberg as his official assistant in the later period of his attendance. Jacobs has gone on to ever-greater heights as a True Beat Progeny, & we have been privileged to obtain and present this stellar collection. At title page, Jacobs has inscribed and signed in charcoal black ink: "Absolute Possibilities (signed) Brian Jacobs." On third page of ephemera, beneath a vermilion rubber stamp imprint, Schelling has signed his name in cerulean blue ink: "Andrew Schelling." Softcover Original: First Edition & first printing though neither explicated as such at copyright page. A most collectible Rhizomatic poetry assemblage (with ephemera) in its rarest contemporary form, greatly enhanced by Jacobs' inscription and Jacobs' & Scheeling's signatures, with the highest relevant association & very distinguished provenance. In relatively as new condition with very mild rubbing to top and bottom of text block, otherwise mint. As new. [Item #8584]

Price: $80.00