Levine, Philip

The Bread of Time: Toward an Autobiography

ISBN: 0679424067
New York, NY, USA: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994. First Edition. Hardcover. "From one of our most celebrated poets- winner of two National Book Awards and two awards from the National Book Critics Circle- an extraordinary memoir that has dictated its own thrust and shape. Philip Levine's The Bread of Time is an amalgam of celebration and quest. It celebrates the poets who were his teachers- particularly John Berryman and Yvor Winters, whose lives and work, Levine believes, have been misunderstood and misinterpreted. As the book progressed to include an account not only of his own childhood and young manhood in Detroit but also of his middle and later years in California and Spain, Levine realized that he was also striving to discover "how I became the particular person and poet I am." The resulting memoir is a double-edged revelation of the way writers grow, witty, elegantly rendered in a prose as characteristically Levine's as his verse, it is superb- and essential- reading for everyone interested in contemporary poetry and poets." (front flap) The acclaimed autobiographical-critical work by Philip Levine (1928-2015), the great American poet who was grounded & inspired by his working-class Detroit upbringing, & who would go on to add to the accolades noted above with the obtainment of the Pulitzer Prize the year after this was published, & to be appointed as Poet Laureate of the United States some years later. Hardcover in unclipped first-issue dust jacket (with $23 price printed at front flap, "1/94" at rear flap), first edition as stated at copyright page, first printing though not specified thereon per then-custom of this publisher. From the collection of Laurence Goldstein (1943-2023), an esteemed American poet, editor, film critic & academician here at the University of Michigan. We have no doubt that Goldstein was at least acquainted with Levine. An important Levine collectible essential to understanding his development & influences as a poet, in its rarest contemporary form with highly distinguished & relevant provenance. Book in very fine condition with only a touch of rubbing to front, back covers & spine; very slight wear, fading & a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same; several tiny areas of wear at red-dyed upper edge of text block with miniscule loss of color; mild, shallow loosening of binding to same at back half of spine (likely as issued). Interior very fine with only tiny bumps & small creases at lower corners/edges of a few page leaves. Dust jacket (with, we note, reproduction of a classic & title-appropriate painting of a basket of bread by this writer's favorite artist Salvador Dali) very fine with only light rubbing, faint scratching to front, back covers & spine; a hint of wear & some tiny bumps, creases at/from edges & corners of same & flaps; mild age-toning to flaps esp. at blank margins/edges. Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #8681]

Price: $50.00