Field, Edward

Stars in My Eyes

ISBN: 0818015373
New York, NY, USA: The Sheep Meadow Press, 1978. First Edition, First Printing. Softcover. "She comes on drenched in perfume called Self-Satisfaction | from feather boa to silver pumps." (opening stanza, Mae West, pg. 62). Stars in My Eyes, written by American poet, novelist & anthologist Edward Field (1924-2026) is a collection of poems inspired by old Hollywood films, especially low-budget B-movies such as The Bride of Frankenstein and Curse of the Cat Woman, illustrated with stills from the films themselves. The poems use humor to offset maudlin sentiment, finding in old movies familiar & universal themes such as frustrated love, alienation, loneliness, prejudice, and force of circumstance. Field's verse is conversational and colloquial, with little or no figurative language while being humble, sad, funny and self-deprecating. The monster poems in particular read as parables of the outsider. Coming from a gay poet writing openly at mid-century, that subtext is hard to miss. For more from Field, see Item No.s 7031 & 9532. From the collection of Laurence Goldstein (1943-2023), poet, editor, and professor in the University of Michigan Department of English Language and Literature. Softcover Original: First Edition, first printing per copyright page. A most collectible B-movie/Poetry hybrid uniquity in its rarest contemporary form with relevant association & very distinguished provenance. In relatively near-fine-to-fine condition with mild scratching & rubbing to front, back covers & spine; mild bumping of corners and wear/creasing to fine edges/at spine of same; mild rubbing and mild-to-moderate age-toning to text block. Interior near-fine-to-fine with mild-verging-on moderate age-toning mostly to blank margins/fine edges of page leaves; mild bumping to corners of same. Near Fine-Fine. [Item #9534]

Price: $50.00 save 10% $45.00