Padgett, Ron

In Advance of the Broken Arm

New York, NY, USA: 1964. Limited First Edition. Stapled Sheets. Signed by Ron Padgett. “From point A a wind is blowing to point B / Which is here, where the pebble is only a mountain. / If truly heaven and earth are out there / Why is that man waving his arms around, / Gesturing to the word “lightning” written on the clouds / That surround and disguise his feet? / If you say the right word in New York City / Nothing will happen in New York City; / But out in the fabulous dry horror of the west / A beautiful girl named Sibyl will burst / In by the open window breathless / And settle for an imaginary glass of something. / But now her name is no longer Sibyl – it’s Herman, / Yearning for point B. / Dispatch this note to our hero at once.”-- Ron Padgett, “After the Broken Arm.” In Advance of the Broken Arm is the debut poetry collection from American poet, essayist, fiction writer, translator & member of the New York School Ron Padgett (b. 1942), published in 1964 by C Press, the mimeograph press run by Ted Berrigan (1934-1983), a most prominent figure in the second generation of the New York School of poets. Padgett came up in the 1960s alongside poets like Berrigan, Anne Waldman (b. 1945) & Joe Brainard (1942-1994), many of whom had collaborated with visual artists and were steeped in Duchamp, Apollinaire, and the French avant-garde. Berrigan even edited this collection with Brainard contributing the cover design & illustrations. The title is borrowed directly from Marcel Duchamp's 1915 readymade of the same name: a snow shovel Duchamp purchased and signed, one of his earliest and most famous readymades. That borrowing is characteristic of Padgett, who often plays with art-world references, Dada & Surrealist gestures, and the slippage between everyday objects & art. His work tends to be conversational, witty, deceptively casual, and interested in how language itself behaves like a found object, which fits neatly with the Duchamp reference. From the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), our esteemed mate in the UK who was the manager of the fabled Unicorn Bookshop in Brighton, England founded by Bill Butler (1934-1977, the famed American-expatriate poet, bookseller & publisher). From the late 1960s through the early 1970s, Unicorn proffered & published many outstanding productions by WSB, 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 which is now also closed, & he still resides there. We have been privileged to obtain what Cupidi has termed "The Last Hurrah," all the remaining gems of Unicorn & Public House, including this.Stapled Sheets: First Limited Edition 82 (handwritten)/200 per colophon page. A scarce & highly collectible Padgett poetry collection in its penultimately rarest form, with relevant association & distinguished provenance. In relatively fine-very fine condition with minor wear to fine edges, moderate discoloration due to age-toning to front & back covers and throughout interior, slight smudging/spotting/scratching to front and back covers, and moderate rusting at staples. Fine-Very Fine. [Item #9042]

Price: $200.00 save 10% $180.00