East, Elyssa

Dogtown: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town

ISBN: 9781416587040
New York, NY, USA: Free Press/ Simon & Schuster, 2009. First Edition. Hardcover. "The area known as Dogtown- an isolated colonial ruin and surrounding 3,000-acre woodland in storied seaside Gloucester, massachusetts- has long exerted a powerful influence over artists, writers, eccentirics, and nature lovers. But its history is also woven through with tales of witches, supernatural sightings, pirates, former slaves, drifters, and the many dogs Revolutionary War widows kept for protection and for which the area was named. In 1984, a brutal murder took place there: a mentally disturbed local outcast crushed the skull of a beloved schoolteacher as she walked in the woods. Dogtown's peculiar atmosphere- it is strewn with giant boulders and has been compared to Stonehenge- and eerie past deepened the pall of this horrific event that continues to haunt gloucester even today." (from front flap) A riveting, disturbing work of American history by Elyssa East, the acclaimed American author. This award-winning volume delves into the creepy legacy of the haunted area in the historic New England fishermens' town of Gloucester, Massachusetts. For our Third Mind purposes, the greatest significance of Gloucester & Dogtown is its inspiration of its most iconic resident- Charles Olson (1910-1970), the Great Black Mountain-&-Beyond Poet's Poet who is our favorite Maximus Obscurantist. As noted at rear flap & described at length within the text, "(Dogtown) inspired...the innovative and influential postmodernist poet Charles Olson, who based much of his epic Maximus Poems on Dogtown..." Hardcover in unclipped first-issue dust jacket (with $26 price printed at front flap, "1209" at back cover), "First Free Press hardcover edition December 2009" as stated at copyright page, first printing (we believe) despite number sequence ending at "2" thereon per other points noted above. From the collection of Albert Glover (1942-2026), the esteemed American poet, bibliographer, editor, publisher & academician who until his recent passing was the foremost remaining authority on Olson- he was a student of & anointed by the Maximus Master himself at SUNY Buffalo during the 1960s, & since then was the premiere Bearer of the Olsonian Torch- we are honored to have known him, & are deeply saddened by his passing. A wonderful American-historic collectible in its rarest contemporary form, of especial interest & insight to the Olson devotee & with the highest, most relevant association & provenance. Book in very fine condition with only a hint of wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of front, back covers & spine; a bit of age-toning to edges of text block. Interior very fine with only light age-toning to blank paste-downs, endpapers & page leaves (the latter chiefly at blank margins/edges); otherwise appearing substantially mint. Dust jacket very fine with only a touch of rubbing, faint scratching to front, back covers & spine; a few tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same & flaps. Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #8858]

Price: $45.00