THE EMPEROR.

SIMIC, CHARLES.

(Portland, Oregon: Charles Seluzicki, 1997). 302 x 210 mm. (12 x 8 1/4"). [9] leaves. No. 67 OF 75 NUMBERED COPIES (and 26 lettered copies).

Publisher's buckram-backed paste paper boards, front cover with a stencilled gold crown. With six illustrations in the text by Eric Stotik; one reproduced on title. SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR on the limitation page. FURTHER SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY SIMIC "for Laure-Ann and Kurt, Charlie, Feb 22, 2002." Spine evenly sunned, otherwise as new.

This copy of a strikingly illustrated fine press edition of Charles Simic's poetry is from the library of his personal friends. Winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize in poetry and U.S. Poet Laureate for 2007-08, Simic (1938-2023) wrote moving, surrealistic poetry often based on his own experiences, particularly his traumatic childhood in what was then Yugoslavia. Here, he takes a romp through the bizarre and unsettling, his biting social commentary garbed in layers of the grotesque. The illustrations by Australian-American artist Eric Stotik (b. 1963) feature roving bands of slightly distorted figures, whose masked faces and often empty eyes follow the viewer across the page. The present publication was assembled by Oregon book dealer and fine press publisher Charles Seluzicki (1946-2024), who issued small poetry editions under the imprints Charles Seluzicki Fine Books, Trace Editions, and Editions Plane. As the friendly inscription indicates, our 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." (ST20338-059)

Price: $250.00