Waldrop, Keith

The Antichrist and Other Foundlings

Providence, RI: Burning Deck Press, 1970. Limited First Edition. Stapled Wrappers. Signed by Keith Waldrop to Laurence Goldstein. “This tube is blind in front / and behind. On the mountain above it / are fine remains, an / unworked concession / of copper, silver and lead. / The two, / indeed, react on one another. // Then, on that / night, the / enumerator / revisits his beat. (See LADYSMITH.) // Here the inconsistency becomes / manifest. He had almost daily / intercourse with / Mirabeau. He / studied for the church, but / declined to sign a religious formula. He was / an enthusiastic admirer of J. S. Bach. // What has become / of the herds of wild oxen? A wild, fierce / people paint their / bodies and go naked. / Coleridge recommended some such method of criticism. / One dies on the average each / year, till all are gone.”--Keith Waldrop, “The Antichrist.” Keith Waldrop (1932-2023), was an American poet, translator, novelist, publisher, and academic. In 2009 Waldrop won the National Book Award for poetry for Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy, & has been a prominent voice in American poetry for over forty years. He was the author of over a dozen books of poetry, prose, and translations. With Rosmarie Waldrop (b. 1935) he was a long-time co-editor of Burning Deck Press. Waldrop also earned a PhD in comparative literature in 1964 from our beloved University of Michigan and taught at Brown University from 1968 to the end of his life. Waldrop’s poetry navigates concerns that are at once personal and philosophical by representing a world that is endlessly strange and fascinating. Offered today is the 1970 collection of poetry, The Antichrist and Other Foundlings. An experimental, dark, and introspective work, The Antichrist and Other Foundlings is one of Waldrop’s best, most philosophical works. Waldrop’s vivid, abstract, ambitious, and erudite prose style comes together masterfully; the result is not only the apotheosis of Waldrop’s oeuvre, but also a highpoint in American experimental poetry. A truly unique and exceedingly rare collectible! From the collection of Laurence Goldstein (1943-2023), an acclaimed American poet, author, film critic, editor & academician here at the University of Michigan. Large-format chapbook Stapled Wrappers. Signed & inscribed at first blank leaf by Waldrop to Laurence Goldstein: “For Larry Goldstein / Keith.” Limited First Edition as stated “There are one hundred and fifty copies of which this is number 122” at colophon page. In relatively very fine condition with only minor wear to fine edges, and light discoloration due to age-toning throughout interior. Very Fine. [Item #9383]

Price: $60.00 save 10% $54.00