THE RHYME OF REB NACHMAN.

PINSKY, ROBERT.

(Winnetka, Illinois: The Vixen Press, 1998). 260 x 240 mm. (10 1/4 x 9 1/2"). 6 p.l., 13, [1] pp., [1] leaf. No. 54 OF 125 COPIES (and 10 artist's proofs).

Publisher's beige buckram, front cover and spine with printed paper labels. With illustrations by Caryl Seidenberg. SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR on the half-title. SIGNED BY THE ILLUSTRATOR in the colophon. As new.

Formerly in the library of two distinguished American poets, this is an attractively illustrated small press edition of a mystical poem by three-term U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky (b. 1940). The author tells us in his prefatory remarks here that he composed this parable as a "little hoax" for a Halloween poetry reading. He says: "I invented an author and tried to create a style for him . . . . 'The Rhyme of Reb Nachman' is a kind of translation with no original." The delightfully spooky narrative poem follows the titular scholar as his Faustian attempt to gain knowledge through supernatural means goes awry. The present edition was hand-set in Victor Hammer's Eusebius type on Arches paper, and is accompanied by evocative illustrations by Caryl Seidenberg of the Vixen Press, founded by Seidenberg in 1980 to create small art book editions of poetry. Our copy is from the library 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. (ST20338-099)

Price: $150.00