THE CLAM THEATER.

EDSON, RUSSELL.

(Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press, 1973). 210 x 158 mm. (8 1/4 x 6"). 80 pp. First Collected Edition.

Publisher's pale blue buckram, spine with black and silver lettering, original price-clipped illustrated dust jacket. Wesleyan University Press review copy slip laid in; front pastedown with ink ownership inscription of Paul Ramsey. See Paul Ramsey, "American Poetry in 1973," The Sewanee Review 82, no. 2 (1974): pp. 393-406. Foxing to the front flap of the dust jacket and to facing portion of the front free endpaper, otherwise fine.

This copy of the poetry of Russell Edson (1935-2014) comes with a double poetic provenance. Edson wrote surreal and often humorous prose poems that provided sometimes bizarre and unexpected takes on everyday occurrences--in "The Clam Theater," these range from burnt potatoes to a fight against a tree. This review copy belonged to University of Tennessee professor and poet-in-residence Paul Ramsey (1924-94), who described the book in "The Sewanee Review" as full of "surprising, eccentric fables with some points to make." More recently, our copy belonged to Laure-Anne Bosselaar (b. 1943) and her husband Kurt Brown (1944-2013). Bosselaar is a Belgian-American poet, translator, and editor who has published numerous works of poetry in multiple languages, including five collections of her own works. She has received various prizes and recognitions (Pushcart, Isabella Gardner, Breadloaf) and was named Poet Laureate of Santa Barbara in 2019. Sometimes publishing jointly with Bosselaar, Brown was also a prolific poet and editor of anthologies, as well as the founder and first director of the Aspen Writer's Conference, playing a pivotal role in shaping its early vision and establishing Aspen as a literary center. (ST20338-002)

Price: $95.00