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59.
Junge Amerikanische Lyrik.
München: Carl Hanser Verlag, 1961. First edition. Lge. 8vo. Wrps., 278pp. Housed in a plain card slipcase, together with a mono 7-inch vinyl record contained in a polythene bag, as issued. Dual-language English/German text (English texts on even-numbered pages, German translations on odd-numbered pages).
One of the first European anthologies of Beat writing (and the first in Germany), co-edited and with introductions by Corso and the poet, playwright and editor of Akzente, Walter Höllerer. Höllerer visited the Beat Hotel in Paris with Günther Grass in 1957, “two leather-jacketed German writers” as Allen Ginsberg later recalled, and subsequently published an essay by Corso in the February 1958 issue of Akzente.
Their co-edited anthology includes “Bomb” (printed as a vertical pull-out), and the record that accompanies the book features Corso reading the poem (his first appearance on vinyl), as well as recordings of Lawrence Ferlinghetti reading “Dog” and Allen Ginsberg reading “Sunflower Sutra” (only his third appearance on vinyl). All three readings are preceded by a spoken German introduction; there is no information on where the readings took place, but the occasional polite cough from audience members in the background indicates that they were public readings.
Other poets whose work appear in the book include: Alan Ansen; John Ashbery; Paul Blackburn; Ray Bremser; Robert Creeley; Diane di Prima; Piero Heliczer; LeRoi Jones; Jack Kerouac; Philip Lamantia; Denise Levertov; Michael McClure; David Meltzer; Frank O’Hara; Charles Olson; Peter Orlovsky; Gary Snyder; Jacques Stern; Gael Turnbull; Philip Whalen; and John Wieners.
An important publication that introduced the Beat and Black Mountain writers to many German readers.
Slight laminate lift to spine panel, o/w a tight, Very Good plus copy in slightly edge-worn and age-toned grey card slipcase; vinyl Very Good plus, with the odd pop and crackle.
Most copies of the book lack the record, which is unsurprising since, as Jan van Toorn has noted, only about 100 copies were issued with it.
Price:
£200.00
