O'Hara, Frank

Odes

New York, NY: Poets' Press, 1969. Second Edition. Stapled Wrappers. A collection of odes by the American poet, Frank O’Hara (1926-1966). O’Hara, as many Beat-&-Beyonders know, was closely associated with both the New York School and the Beat Generation in New York. The odes collected here are generally either thematically oriented (as in his “Ode on Causality”) or deal with such New York Art World staples as Willem de Kooning (1904-1997), the great Dutch-American Abstract Expressionist. The pamphlet was originally published in 1960 as one part of a four-part limited edition portfolio set created by the painter, Michael Goldberg (1924-2007) and published by the Tiber Press. This edition, published in a standalone format by Beat giant, Diane di Prima (1934-2020) through her famed Poets’ Press imprint, provides Beat enthusiasts & collectors with the ability to access the poems without having to spring for the wildly rare four-part portfolio, which itself is rarely available on the secondary market. An affordably priced collectible (with significant association) from the Mimeograph Revolution in the late 1960s. From the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), our esteemed mate in the UK who managed the fabled Unicorn Bookshop in Brighton, England with 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 treasures of Unicorn & Public House, including this gem. Medium-format pamphlet in stapled wrappers: Second Printing, succeeding the original Tiber Press edition of 1960 alluded to above. In Fair-Good condition with light-to-moderate shelf-wear, bumping to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers; mild-to-moderate rubbing; moderate-to-enunciated age-toning (yellowing, spotting & artifacts similar) present, variously throughout; minute-to-moderate rusting & bleeding to staples at exterior and interior; otherwise, generally clean. Fair-Good. [Item #8974]

Price: $45.00