Raworth, Tom

A Serial Biography

London, England, UK: Fulcrum Press, 1969. Limited First Edition. Hardcover. Signed by Tom Raworth. "Then the whole world will belong to the people. Monsters of all kinds shall be destroyed." (Mao Tse-Tung, epigraph). British-Irish poet & publisher Tom Raworth's (1938-2017) A Serial Biography, was published in 1969 by Fulcrum Press, the premier British small press of the late 1960s, and is a unique work that blends autobiography with fictional elements, creating a kaleidoscopic narrative that reflects Raworth's experiences and thoughts. A Serial Biography is noted for its innovative structure and has been described as a vertiginous patchwork of personal and fictional storytelling. It stands out among Raworth's works for its experimental approach and is considered an important piece in understanding his literary contributions. Raworth started his professional publishing career in the early 1960s, when he published a number of Black Mountain School & Beat Generation poets including Ed Dorn (1929-1999), Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) & LeRoi Jones (1934-2014), and the prose in this book shows how he was influenced by the Black Mountain & Beat Generation poets, particularly Robert Creeley (1926-2005), reflected by his lines that lead the reader into following multiple syntactic possibilities where it is increasingly impossible to keep track of the profusion of meanings on offer. 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 gems of Unicorn & Public House, including this. At Acknowledgements page, Raworth has handwritten the limitation number "59/100" & signed his name ("Tom Raworth") in midnight black ink. Hardcover without Dust Jacket as issued: Limited First Edition & first printing per aforementioned limitation number at Acknowledgements page. A most collectible early Raworth uniquity, in its rarest contemporary form with highly relevant association & very distinguished provenance, greatly enhanced by Raworth's signature. In relatively fine-to-very fine condition with moderate age-toning to fine edges of front, back covers & spine; mild age-toning and mild-to-moderate spot-staining to text block; mild-to-moderate age-toning mostly to blank margins & fine edges of front & back pastedowns & some page leaves. Fine-Very Fine. [Item #8780]

Price: $100.00 save 15% $85.00