Hadley, Drummond

Broadside: Smokey and the Bird Watcher (1980)

Cave Creek, AZ: Drummond Hadley, 1980. Limited Edition. Single Sheet. Signed by Drummond Hadley. A broadside (appx: 11.5" x 17") of the poem Smokey and the Bird Watcher by poet-turned-cowboy, Anheiser-Busch heir Drum(mond) Hadley (1938-2015). Smokey and the Bird Watcher is a comedic poem of a birdwatcher quietly trying to spot a rare bird & a hunter humorously offering to help the bird watcher get a "closer look" at the bird using a shotgun. Hadley, a longtime friend of Beat Generation Head Honchos Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) & Gary Snyder (b. 1930) and City Lights Books founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021), was mentored by the "Maximus Obscurantist," the "bridge between earlier modernist figures Ezra Pound (1885-1972) & William Carlos Williams (1883-1963) and the New American poets of the time," Charles Olson (1910-1970). Hadley even participated in Curriculum of the Soul, a tribute series to Olson of poetry & essays that reflect on various subjects & ideas with his chapbook Vision, the 21st entry in the series (See Item No.s 8138, 8341 et al. for more Curriculum of the Soul entries). From the collection of Albert Glover (1942-2026), the great American scholar, bibliographer, author & publisher (of the aforementioned Curriculum of the Soul) who until recently was the foremost remaining authority on literary giant Charles Olson, with whom we're honored to have been acquainted. At bottom right hand corner, beneath printed poem, Hadley has signed his name in raven black ink: "Drum Hadley." Broadside: Limited Edition, first & only printing. A most collectible Beat Generation/Black Mountain uniquity with highly relevant association & very distinguished provenance, greatly enhanced by the cowboy poet's signature. See also Item No.s 6540 & esp. 8318. In relatively very fine condition with one very small, almost indiscernable occasion of creasing to center top fine edge, essentially mint. Very Fine. [Item #8796]

Price: $100.00