Poetry at the Mermaid

Well, there is going to be a learning curve to getting this stuff posted with some proficiency. Anyways, this is the programme booklet from the "Poetry at the Mermaid" event. I had to research the year to be sure, since I couldn't find a year anywhere in the pages. It is July, 1961.

Plath's bio says she is married with one daughter. Her poem included here is, "Tulips."

Hughes' poem is, "My Uncle's Wound."

It is apx. 5x8. My reading through the pages is hampered by the fact I don't want to actually fully open this rather delicate booklet. I was able to read that there were twelve poets "commissioned" to share/write pieces for this event. Ted and Sylvia were among the twelve and according to the event schedule they both read their poems. The commissioned pieces are printed on a medium blue coloured paper, whereas the rest of the contents are all on regular type paper. I wonder if anyone has any insight as to 'why' they would have done this. For some reason I think it sort of odd. Some discolorization has occurred on the edges of the blue paper.

Familiar names are here. Richard Murphy was also a commissioned poet and would have read. A. Alvarez is cited as the photographer of the picture of John Wain, whose name stands out for me as being on the Hughes vinyl recording I have listed on this blog.

sticking my toe in these waters....

Been too long since I posted here. Just got done testing my new camera's software and it works like a dream compared to the fiasco of my previous camera in conjuction with my very squirrely desktop. New camera. New laptop. Hopefully this recipe will make for an angst-free posting of pics....

I'll be bock...

Sorry about the long hiatus. The collection is not completed...The last few weeks have been a bit hectic and also sad (my doggy died). I'll get around to posting more stuff soon.
Cheers,
Laurie

Contemporary Fiction "The Bell Jar"

This is the Contemporary Fiction version of The Bell Jar. I think it is the last of the moniker publications before it was revealed Sylvia Plath was the author. From what I can tell, CF is a sort of book club. I was surprised at how nice a version this one is. Other than a tiny bit of scruffing on the back, it seems pristine and the hardcover lettering is mirror-like with its bright aluminum shine.

To the left we have it canoodling with a naked Colossus!

The Colossus

I pulled this out to shoot it and realized I really NEED a better copy. The jacket is pretty sad. This middle-aged lady looks better with her coat off. The skin underneath is near pristine, sharp green, no dings or age spots. Somehow I have drifting off into Anthropomorphic land. I'll stop.

I did shoot the heck out of it, with an all time (so far) high number of thirteen photos. And I realized that in the beginning of this blog I failed to take the jackets off my earlier hardbacks. I'll probably go back an re-visit those items.

So here you go, everything you wanted to know about the Knopf, First edition of 'The Colossus.' It has also given me the idea that maybe someone should put together a bibliography with photos, now that technology has made something like that easier to pull together.

Unaccomodated Universe

It's funny how 'dated' this book seems, judging it specifically by the cover design. 1980. It is the book cover version of NBA players wearing short, shorts and long socks.

The orange burlap is a bland burnt orange colour in real life. In these photos it looks all coppery and exciting. Not the case. The book comes with a very stiff and clear jacket that I took off to avoid flashbacks when shooting it.

I read online that there a 294 of these signed by both Ted and Ekbert.

back cover

Letter Home Uncorrected Proof

As they say in Baw-stun, this is a wicked-tall green thing. Proof's aren't pretty, but they can be very interesting to compare with what got into the final book and what did not. This proof has at least three different spots where there is really thick 'white-out' applied. There are handwrit notes throughout, which are not original but part of the copied text.