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NIGHT LIFE.
(Lewisburg, Pennsylvania: The Press of Appletree Alley, 1997). 255 x 169 mm. (10 x 6 5/8"). 54 pp., [3] leaves. No. 29 OF 125 COPIES.
Original black cloth by Don Rash, with an all-around overlay of handmade paper over several small silver bezants. Housed in a black cloth slipcase, spine with black morocco label with gilt lettering. With two full-page color lino and wood engravings (one with tissue guard), and two half-page black & white engravings, by Anne Jope. SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR on the limitation page. In mint condition.
From the library of two significant American poets, this is an especially attractive private press production of William Matthews' poetry. Writer and professor Matthews (1942-97) served as the President of the American Poetry Foundation and won the Ruth Lilly Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award. He wrote often humorous yet deeply philosophical poetry that, in the Poetry Foundation's words, "earned [him] a reputation as a master of well-turned phrases, wise sayings, and rich metaphors." In the present collection of 28 poems, Matthews uses highly specific settings and situations ("Driving through the Poconos, Route 80, 1:30 a.m., Snow," "Vasectomy," "The Bar at the Andover Inn") to comment on love, emotion, and the human condition. The accompanying wood engravings by Anne Jope (b. 1945) feature figures and forms that wander in and out of the recognizable, thick supple lines twisting them into poses both grotesque and graceful. The present production is the work of The Press of Appletree Alley. Founded by graphic designer Barnard Taylor in 1979 in his Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, home, the press undertook frequent collaborations with writers and students at the local Bucknell University, as in the case of this book, which was produced as part of the Bucknell University Fine Editions series in Contemporary 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. Given the book's small limitation, "Night Life" has always been scarce, and at present we find no other copy listed for sale. (ST20338-110)
Price: $350.00