Surrealistic Poetry, Haunting Etchings, One of 10 Artist's Proof Copies, Warmly Inscribed by the Poet

WONDERS OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD.

SIMIC, CHARLES. NAMA, GEORGE, Illustrator.

(Montauk, New York: Monument Press, 2005). 507 x 330 mm. (20 x 13"). [12] leaves of text. AP 3 of 10 Artist's Proofs (and 20 numbered copies, and two copies with unfolded sheets).

Unbound, as issued, in original red and brown buckram clamshell box. WITH 10 ETCHINGS by George Nama, each plate in bifolium facing text. SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR on the limitation page; FURTHER SIGNED AND INSCRIBED "For Kurt and Laure-Anne, With much Love, Charlie, August 29, 2005." SIGNED BY THE ILLUSTRATOR on each etching. As new.

This extremely appealing--and very oversized--production of art and poetry features 10 original etchings and a warm personal inscription from the poet. Charles Simic (1938-2023), winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize in poetry and U.S. Poet Laureate for 2007-08, wrote moving, surrealistic poetry often based on his own experiences, particularly his traumatic childhood in what was then Yugoslavia. Here, his lyrical poems focus on the unsettling ways fear and magic are woven into the everyday. These poems are perfectly complemented by the haunting etchings by Pennsylvania artist George Nama (b. 1939), in which abstracted figures writhe against textured backgrounds. The two collaborated on seven projects, all published by the Monument Press. As the friendly inscription indicates, this copy is from the collection of 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. It was through the Aspen Writer's Conference that Bosselaar and Brown became friends with Simic, when Brown invited Simic to speak at the conference in the early 1990s. Bosselaar, reminiscing on a friendship of over two decades, wrote that "Charlie (as he was known by his friends) and Kurt had a great friendship, and shared a common love for wine & poetry— so, often, the Simics would come to our house, and we’d have a 'good bottle' or two around a dinner I'd cook for them." (ST20338-034)

Price: $1,800.00