Wieners, John; Glover, Albert

Nerves

ISBN: 0670506044
London, England: Cape Goliard Press, 1970. First UK Trade Edition, First Printing. Softcover in Over-Wraps. An early selected poems by John Wieners (1934-2002), the great American lyric poet of the Beat Generation-&-Beyond who was mentored by Charles Olson (1910-1970) & Robert Duncan (1919-1988) at Black Mountain College & was also a major figure of the San Francisco Renaissance. Nerves was the first volume of Wieners’ work to be published in the UK & is significant with respect to this. A necessary addition to any Wieners-inclusive collection or library. From the collection of Albert Glover (1942-2026), the esteemed American poet, editor, bibliographer, publisher & academician who was the foremost remaining authority on Olson. Glover was a student of & anointed by the Maximus Master himself at SUNY Buffalo during the 1960s, & had ever since served outstandingly to bear the Olsonian Torch. We are deeply saddened by the recent passing of our friend & mentor. Softcover in over-wraps: First UK Trade Edition, First Printing; published simultaneously (in an unknown limitation) with a numbered, signed limited edition of 100, & issued concurrently in hardcover & softcover (also in an unknown limitation) in the United States. While this copy is not signed by Glover, it does feature two inscriptions in Glover’s hand. The first, in thin, black felt pen ink & present on recto of FFEP, is definably a manuscript poem. It reads: “To the Authors / Your words come to me / as leaves in a book / hung upon Yggdrasil / Tree of love’s communication.” “Yggdrasil,” for those unfamiliar with Norse Mythology, was a sort of axis mundi: “the mighty tree whose trunk rises at the geographical center of the Norse spiritual cosmos” (https://tinyurl.com/2rppw2ma). The second inscription by Glover is a personal/literary-historical one, and refers to the documented mental health issues suffered by Wieners during his life; problems that had become especially pronounced by/around the time of this work’s release. Also in thin, black, felt pen ink, Glover’s second inscription (revealingly placed under the work’s title where printed at center-middle of title page), reads: “There doesn’t appear to be / much pretense left in / old John [underline/flourish].” An oddly elusive John Wieners collectible, here discernibly enriched by the facts of provenance & a manuscript poem. In strong Near Fine condition with only mild-to-moderate shelf-wear & some light bumping to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers & spine-edge; similarly mild-to-moderate age-toning, rubbing, a few scattered nicks & scuffs to same at select locales; faded former bookseller’s price sticker at bottommost fine-edge of front flap at interior, & accompanying sticker residue from said sticker at recto of FFEP near bottommost fine-edge at right-hand corner; otherwise, generally clean with interior unmarked. Near Fine. [Item #9452]

Price: $65.00 save 10% $58.50