Bukowski, Charles; Ferlinghetti, Lawrence; Fisher, Steve; Johnson, Denis

4 Poets

Tempe, AZ: Synaesthesia Press, 1995. Limited First Edition. Stapled Wrappers. "With the exception of (Lawrence Ferlinghetti's) Poet as Fisherman, all the work here has never been published, to my knowledge. I wanted to do it in part for Steve (Fisher), in part as a tribute to (Charles) Bukowski, and because I think it is all quality work. As far as legalities, I don't know...I do know that money is not a motive, as by the time I pay for publication costs, I lose. James Laughlin, John martin, and anyone that may get pissed about this (assuming they ever see it) please take note...I hope you have a good sense of humor and remember where you once came from." (conclusion of Foreword by "The Editor," unpaginated) A chapbook with the theretofore-unpublished 1964 essay, "A Depressive State of Affairs for Kings, Witches, and Elevator Boys (An Answer to a request to chop some weeds)," by Charles Bukowski (1920-1994), the great American cult favorite poet-denizen of the dive bar & the racetrack (Debritto, D114.4, pg. 499). At covers & interior are facsimiles of exemplary drawings by Buk. We feel obligated to note that with all due respect to Buk, we firmly do not agree with his assertion in this essay that certain of the most canonical Beat Generation-&-Beyond figures, particularly our Third Mind Patron-Saint-Demon William S. Burroughs, had even by then sold out to fame & popularity- perhaps he was bitter & jealous at this early juncture. Also in this collection are contributions of poetry by Beat-&-Beyond icon Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021, "Poet as Fisherman"); Steve Fisher (1956?-1993), the mysterious & doomed poet who collaborated on this with the "Editor"; & Denis Johnson (1949-2017), the acclaimed & award-winning American poet, novelist & playwright. Chapbook in stapled wrappers, first (& only) printing as indicated by number sequence at bootleg-non-copyright page, one of 243 copies produced in May 1995, not among the additional 11 copies with Bukowski's essay "The House of Horrors" tipped-in per colophon, this is copy No. "178/243" as hand-numbered in red ink at recto of protective glassine rear endpaper opposite colophon. A beautiful & daring unauthorized collectible (with "all work used without anyone's permission" as noted at bootleg-non-copyright page) of special interest to the Bukowski collector-completist, in its singular, under-the-radar penultimately rarest contemporary form (good luck finding those "special copies" unless you know & can obtain them from the anonymous "Editor" if they're still with us...). In relatively quite very fine condition with only slight wear & some tiny bumps, creases at/from edges & corners of front, back covers & esp. stapled spine. Interior very fine with previous owner's (rather snappy) signature in blank ink at blank upper right margin of title page; tiny bumps & small, faint creases at corners of a few page leaves. Very Fine. [Item #8950]

Price: $70.00