Kerouac, Jack

Scattered Poems

San Francisco, CA: City Lights Books, 1971. First Edition. Softcover. "The new American poetry as typified by the S(an) F(rancisco) Renaissance (which means (Allen) Ginsberg, me, (Kenneth) Rexroth, (Lawrence) Ferlinghetti, (Michael) McClure, (Gregory) Corso, Gary Snyder, Philip Lamantia, Philip Whalen, I guess) is a kind of new-old Zen Lunacy poetry, writing whatever comes into your head as it comes, poetry returned to its origin, in the bardic child, truly ORAL as (Ferlinghetti) said, instead of gray faced Academic quibbling. Poetry & prose had for long time fallen into the false hands of the false. These new pure poets confess forth for the sheer joy of confession. They are CHILDREN. They are also childlike graybeard Homers singing in the street. They SWING, they SWING." (Jack Kerouac, from "The Origins of Joy in Poetry," preceding pg. 1) The classic collection of poems by Jack Kerouac (1922-1969), Founding Father of the Beat Generation. Among the earliest posthumous Kerouac publications, this volume gathers short poems & haiku which he wrote between 1945 through about 1968 from myriad sources which are listed on pgs. 75-76. Smaller-format softcover original, first edition, from first printing of 3000 copies per & with all points in Cook, No. 92, pgs. 97-98. As noted at title page, this is the 28th number of the iconic Pocket Poets Series issued by Lawrence Ferlinghetti's canonical City Lights imprint. 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 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 has also now closed, & he still resides there. We have been honored to obtain what Cupidi has termed "The Last Hurrah," all the remaining gems, including this, of Unicorn & Public House. Third Mind Books proceeds to reverently curate & incrementally present the Butler-Cupidi-Unicorn-Public House Legacy that is in our custodial hands- until it passes to yours. An essential Kerouac collectible in its rarest contemporary form, with most-distinguished & relevant provenance. In relatively quite near-fine condition with mild-to-moderate rubbing, mostly faint scratching, age-toning & spotting to front, back covers & spine; light wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same; mild rubbing, spotting & a hint of age-toning to edges of text block. Interior fine-very fine with mild age-toning to blank inner covers; two price notations in pencil referring to British currency at blank upper right margin of title page (retained as a quaint relic of its provenance); minuscule bumps at corners of some page leaves. Near Fine. [Item #8772]

Price: $70.00