The first book of the press
Songlines: mosaics
Providence: Brown/Ziggurat Press, 1991. Edition limited to 65 copies, this marked "Pressman Proof," signed in full by the author and the printer; 8vo (approx. 10½" x 7"), pp. [26] some french-fold; 9 illustrations by Michael Feldman; printed on Rives, German-Ingre, and Mohawk Superfine papers, in Garamond type by Walter Feldman; fine, in original cream wrappers, printed paper label on the upper cover, and contained in the publisher's terracotta clamshell box, paper label on spine. This is the "first volume in the Brooke Hunt Mitchell Distinguished Authors Series" and the first book of the press. Michael Harper (1938-2016) was the first poet laureate of Rhode Island. "Known for his innovative use of jazz rhythms, cultural allusion, historical reference, and personal narrative, Harper was 'a deeply complex poet whose mission is to unite the fractured, inhumane technologies of our time with the abiding deep well of Negro folk traditions,' wrote John Callahan in the New Republic. Poetry reviewer Paul Breslin noted that Harper did this by drawing “upon black history, literature, and myth” (Poetry Foundation). When he retired from Brown University in 2013, where he had taught literature, poetry, and creative writing since 1970, he was the longest serving professor of English and Literary Arts at that institution. Item #70786
Price: $400.00
