Whalen, Philip

Heavy Breathing

San Francisco, CA: Four Seasons Foundation, 1983. First Trade Softcover Edition. A collection of poems by Philip Whalen (1923-2002), the great American poet and Zen Buddhist monk affiliated with the Beat Generation and San Francisco Renaissance. It was published in 1983 by the Four Seasons Foundation, the famed imprint of editor-publisher, Don Allen (1912-2004; of New American Poetry: 1945-1960 fame), and showcases Whalen’s work at its most quotidian and most conceptual. While these may seem to be antonyms with respect to the oeuvre of the noted San Francisco Renaissance giant, that’s not always the case, as this collection makes clear. A treasury of verse from a Beat-&-Beyond legend. 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. Trade-format softcover: First Edition, though not explicated as such on copyright page; First Printing, with no reference to other printings, thereon. In Very Good-Near Fine condition with only minute-to-moderate shelf-wear, some light bumping & occasional bump-creasing to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers & spine-edge; similarly minute-to-moderate rubbing throughout, with slightly more enunciated rubbing near bottommost fine-edge of front cover; otherwise, generally clean with interior unmarked. Very Good-Near Fine. [Item #9172]

Price: $30.00