Harwood, Lee

The Sinking Colony

London, England, UK: Fulcrum Press, 1970. Limited First Edition. Hardcover. Signed by Lee Harwood. “A small train quietly follows the coastline. / The sky is so blue over the boat-yards, and the sun is a blinding / white. / Meteorology. // At dusk the fisherman climb aboard the train and clutter the / carriages with their rods and baskets. At “two o’clock” it’s as / deserted as a shingle bar. / The green carriages. You’re surprised. I can’t explain all the / echoes. The lances. // Ricochets make it dangerous for everyone in town, regardless of / their, or any, involvements. On the horizon clouds of dust signal / that the indians were tearing up the railroad again and cutting / telegraph wires AS USUAL. This lack of imagination has some- / thing of the primitive in it. Alas. “N’est-ce pas?” // Banditry…”--Lee Harwood, first several stanzas of “Death of a Pirate King,” pg. 10. Lee Harwood (1939-2015) was an English poet associated, primarily, with the British Poetry Revival movement. Harwood was born in Leicester and raised in Chertsey, Surrey. He studied at Queen Mary College, University of London and soon became involved in the London poetry scene of the 1960s. The author of over 20 volumes of poetry, fiction, and translations, his poetry collections include Collected Poems 1964-2004, Selected Poems (2008), and The Orchid Boat (2014). His work is influenced equally by Romantic poets such as John Clare (1793-1864) and William Wordsworth (1770-1850) and by 20th-century movements such as Dada, the Black Mountain poets, and the New York School. Offered today is the 1970 collection of poetry, The Sinking Colony. This collection, increasingly more experimental than its predecessor Landscapes (see item No. 8676), is wildly imaginative, endlessly interested in the human, and revels in the tapestry of emotions that make up the human condition. As Paul Selby (b. 1948) states on the back cover of the first softcover edition: “Lee Harwood is concerned with precision, stories begun, expeditions set up, landscapes are glimpsed; but to a purpose – to explore a personal statement of a state of mind, to revitalise language and stock phrases by a context that fires on broken lines, retracted, and undercut statements, movements towards a perfection, precision and elegance, whose elusiveness sparks the wider implications of the poems, i.e. those outside the question of language.” A wonderful, often forgotten collection that is as scarce as it is literarily profound! From the collection of Richard Cupidi (b. 1945), our esteemed mate in the UK who managed the fabled Unicorn Bookshop in Brighton, England for founder 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 nos. 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, some of which have become the stuff of myth, including this gem. Hand-numbered & signed by Harwood in thin black ink at copyright page. Hardcover in publishers clear protective dust jacket. Limited first edition “Limited edition number 37/100” as stated at copyright page. In very fine condition with only minor wear to fine edges, and very light smudging/scratching to front and back covers. Dust jacket very fine with only minor smudging/scratching to front & back covers. Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #9492]

Price: $75.00 save 10% $67.50