Edwin Denby (1903–1983)

Collected Poems - Signed Limited Edition [53/100]

New York: Full Court Press, 1975. Limited Edition. Hardcover with Dust Jacket. A scarce, signed limited first edition of the collected works of Edwin Denby, the celebrated dance critic and New York School poet. Number 53 of only 100 specially bound copies, retaining its original dust jacket and encompassing his major sequences from 'In Public, In Private' to 'Snoring in New York.'

Key Features:
+++ Visuals: Includes a frontispiece photograph of the author by his lifelong collaborator, Rudy Burckhardt.

+++ Content: Collects Denby's urban sonnets and lyrical poems that heavily influenced the New York School writers (Frank O'Hara, Ted Berrigan).

+++ Ephemera: Laid in are two significant pieces of ephemera which caused the offsetting: a multi-page fold-out essay 'On Edwin Denby' by Lincoln Kirstein (reprinted from the NY Review of Books) and a contemporary New York Times Book Review clipping.

+++ Provenance: From the library of Ben Raeburn, the longtime head of Horizon Press (publisher of Frank Lloyd Wright), though not marked as such.

+++ Limitation: Number 53 of 100 special cloth copies signed by the author (total edition included 12 additional hors commerce copies).

Condition: Near Fine in Very Good Dust Jacket. The binding is tight and square with a clean interior. There is distinct offsetting (browning) to the rear endpapers caused by the acidic newsprint of the laid-in clippings. The dust jacket shows sun-toning (fading) at the spine and edges, with minor handling wear at the spine head.

Historical Significance:
Edwin Denby (1903–1983) is a central figure in 20th-century American arts, revered equally for his dance criticism and his poetry. He served as a bridge between the Modernists and the New York School, living in the same loft building as Willem de Kooning and collaborating with Rudy Burckhardt. 

His sonnets, which capture the rhythm of New York City streets with photographic precision, were championed by Frank O'Hara and John Ashbery. A signed limited copy from Full Court Press represents the height of the downtown literary scene of the 1970s.

Keywords: New York School, Dance Criticism, Sonnets, Frank O'Hara, Rudy Burckhardt, Limited Edition, Signed Books, Poetry, Modernism, Lincoln Kirstein.

Item #21495
ISBN: 0916190005

Price: $165.00