Exaltation of Light (with holograph poems)
Brockport, NY: BOA Editions, 1981. First edition. Hardcover. An association copy: Of a limited edition of 50 copies in French marbled paper over boards, this is one of 10 with a holograph poem by Aridjis opposite the holograph translation by editor Eliot Weinberger, in this case a beautiful, gnomic, spare poem entitled Paisaje or "Landscape." Signed by both poets at rear on the colophon. A stunning item and pairing, really. An iconic Mexican figure, Aridjis is not only a poet of rare and lasting caliber, but was also ambassador to Sweden and the Netherlands, the president of PEN International for six years, and a longtime environmental activist. He has led a particularly international life and is often in the conversation for the Nobel Prize for literature (20th in the betting odds in 2023, at 29/1). Says Octavio Paz: "In the poetry of Homero Aridjis there is the gaze, the pulse of the poet, the discontinuous time of practical and rational life and the continuity of desire and death: there is the poet's primal truth." Weinberger is one of our most distinguished translators and is in his own right a remarkable essayist and poet (a writer's writer). Additionally, this book is from the library of accomplished poet William Heyen, a National Book Award finalist, and is signed and dated by him on the front free end paper. Gilt on the black cloth spine, gold and green in red marbling. Black endpapers. A fine book; the cloth spine is fairly loose over the text block but it is clearly a binder's decision (the binding by Gene Eckert). A lasting book with an excellent association and rare holograph verse. Fine. Item #1395
Price: $3,750.00 save 5% $3,562.50