MODERN POETRY – ASH RARE BOOKS

Modern poetry at Ash Rare Books

OTHER MODERN POETS AT
ASH RARE BOOKS
43 HURON ROAD
LONDON SW17 8RE
UNITED KINGDOM

Tel: (+44)-(0)20-8672-2263
e-mail: books@ashrare.com


VISITORS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

OTHER MODERN POETS

CLICK ON REFRESH/RELOAD TO ENSURE YOU HAVE THE UPDATED VERSION OF THIS PAGE
BARKER, George (George Granville), 1913-1991 : POEMS OF PLACES AND PEOPLE.

BARKER, George (George Granville), 1913-1991 : POEMS OF PLACES AND PEOPLE.

London : Faber & Faber, (1971). First edition. Twenty-two poems and the poem sequence “Venusberg”, dedicated to Graham Greene — the poems mainly in remembrance of people — T. S. Eliot (who called Barker a genius — a view both shared and disputed by others), Herbert Read, Vernon Watkins, etc. — and specific places — Kew Gardens, Norfolk, Surrey, etc. Brought up in Battersea, Barker is variously remembered as the man who inspired Elizabeth Smart's “By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept”, drinking chum of Dylan Thomas, collaborator in writing pornography with Anaïs Nin, and as the father of fifteen children by four different women born over a period of forty years.
Demy 8vo (23cm). 80pp. Original black cloth, lettered in gilt; a very good, bright, clean and sound copy in the dust-jacket — the jacket equally very good.

£25

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 44988 — or simply click on the button

BLOK, Alexander (Alexandr Alexandrovich), 1880-1922 & OTHERS : POEMS BY ALEXANDER BLOK, NICOLAI GUMILEV, ILYA EHRENBURG & NINA BERBEROVA. TRANSLATED FROM THE RUSSIAN BY YAKOV HORNSTEIN.

BLOK, Alexander (Alexandr Alexandrovich), 1880-1922 & OTHERS : POEMS BY ALEXANDER BLOK, NICOLAI GUMILEV, ILYA EHRENBURG & NINA BERBEROVA. TRANSLATED FROM THE RUSSIAN BY YAKOV HORNSTEIN.

Dorking : Yakov Hornstein, [ca.1945]. First edition in English of four poems from Blok, thirteen from Gumilev (1886-1921), four from Ehrenburg (1891-1967), and one from Berberova (1901-1993). Translated and privately published by Yakov (Jacob) Hornstein (1902-1987). Printed by A. A. Tanner & Son, who were at 80 South Street, Dorking, from 1937 to 1955.
Demy 8vo (22cm). (44)pp. Original pale blue stapled wrappers, lettered in black; wrappers a little marked, creased and slightly tanned; faint vertical crease, but a good copy of a scarce and ephemeral publication. Just two copies (New York and Riverside) located in major libraries worldwide.

£40

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 25915 – or simply click on the button

BLUNDEN, Edmund (Edmund Charles), 1896-1974 : PASTORALS : A BOOK OF VERSES BY E. C. BLUNDEN.

BLUNDEN, Edmund (Edmund Charles), 1896-1974 : PASTORALS : A BOOK OF VERSES BY E. C. BLUNDEN.

London : Erskine Macdonald, (1916). First edition : [one of 1050 copies]. Edmund Blunden’s first regularly published work – a collection of twenty-one poems, including “By Chanctonbury”, “Song of Summer Midnight”, “The Memory of Kent”, etc.
Foolscap 8vo (17cm). 36,[viii]pp. Original pale brown wrappers, ruled, blocked and lettered in two shades of blue; just lightly bruised, but a very good copy and partially unopened copy of this fragile production, with just the faintest hint of wear to tips. Kirkpatrick A7.

£75

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 31566 – or simply click on the button

BROOKE, Rupert (Rupert Chawner), 1887-1915 : THE LETTERS OF RUPERT BROOKE : CHOSEN AND EDITED BY GEOFFREY KEYNES.

BROOKE, Rupert (Rupert Chawner), 1887-1915 : THE LETTERS OF RUPERT BROOKE : CHOSEN AND EDITED BY GEOFFREY KEYNES.

London : Faber & Faber, (1968). First edition. An extensive selection of letters from Rugby, Italy, Cambridge, Grantchester, Lulworth, Germany, Canada, the South Seas, army camps and the Aegean – charting the whole of Brooke’s short life.
Medium 8vo (25cm). (xvi),(710),[ii]pp. Plates. Portraits. Original light blue cloth, blocked in brown and ruled and lettered in gilt; top edge yellow; a very good copy in the original light blue, white and black dust-jacket – also very good.

£40

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 27776 – or simply click on the button

BULLOCK, Michael (Michael Hale), 1918-2008 – editor : EXPRESSION.

BULLOCK, Michael (Michael Hale), 1918-2008 – editor : EXPRESSION.

Harrow : Michael Bullock / London : Ian Robinson, (1966-1970). A complete run of all twelve issues of Bullock’s poetry quarterly. Contributors include Anne Beresford, Bullock himself, Marcus Cumberlege, Marguerite Edmonds, James Kirkup, Alan Massey, Gerda Mayer, Susan Musgrave, Michael Schmidt, Eddie Wainwright, Nigel Wells, etc. – with illustrations and cover designs by Victor Bunn, Miriam Cartwright, Peter Johns, Sonia Lawson, Dick Platt, Deirdre Storey, Olga Sullivan, etc.
Twelve issues. Foolscap 4to (22cm). The set bound, retaining all wrappers, etc., in a neat contemporary buckram; very good.

£75

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 25482 – or simply click on the button

BUNTING, Basil (Basil Cheesman), 1900-1985 : THE SPOILS.

BUNTING, Basil (Basil Cheesman), 1900-1985 : THE SPOILS.

Newcastle upon Tyne : Morden Tower Book Room, [1965]. First separate edition. “As I sat at my counting frame to assess the people ...” – a ten-page poem relating to Bunting’s time in Tehran, originally published in an American magazine in 1951 and here making its first British appearance. With Bunting’s page of explanatory notes.
Foolscap 4to (21cm). [16]pp. Portrait. Original pictorial wrappers; wrappers just a touch rubbed and very lightly tanned, but otherwise very good.

£15

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 44459 – or simply click on the button

BUNTING, Basil (Basil Cheesman), 1900-1985 : COLLECTED POEMS.

BUNTING, Basil (Basil Cheesman), 1900-1985 : COLLECTED POEMS.

London : Fulcrum Press, (1968). First edition : the trade issue. “These verses were written here and there now and then over forty years and four continents. Heaped together they make a book”. The first collected and readily accessible edition of Bunting’s work. Over sixty poems, including “Briggflatts”, “I am Agog for Foam”, “Gin the Goodwife Stint”, “The Orotova Road”, “This I Write, Mix Ink with Tears”, etc.
Medium 8vo (25cm). 160pp. Original grey cloth, lettered in gilt; just a touch sunned, but a very good, clean and sound copy in the Barnett Newman dust-jacket – price-clipped, but also very good. Small bookseller’s label of Scott Martin of San Francisco on rear paste-down.

£100

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 38538 – or simply click on the button

BUNTING, Basil (Basil Cheesman), 1900-1985 : COLLECTED POEMS.

BUNTING, Basil (Basil Cheesman), 1900-1985 : COLLECTED POEMS.

London : Fulcrum Press, (1968). First edition : the trade issue. “These verses were written here and there now and then over forty years and four continents. Heaped together they make a book”. The first collected and readily accessible edition of Bunting’s work. Over sixty poems, including “Briggflatts”, “I am Agog for Foam”, “Gin the Goodwife Stint”, “The Orotova Road”, “This I Write, Mix Ink with Tears”, etc.
Medium 8vo (25cm). 160pp. Original grey cloth, lettered in gilt; small areas of faint discolouration to covers; some large spots to edges; a good and still bright copy in the original Barnett Newman dust-jacket – a design in black and white – the jacket used but complete – a little rubbed, soiled, lightly repaired and faintly damp-stained.

£25

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 28455 – or simply click on the button

BURNS, Jim, 1936- : TYPES : POEMS & STORIES.

BURNS, Jim, 1936- : TYPES : POEMS & STORIES.

Cardiff : Second Aeon Publications, [1970]. First edition. Inscribed to Elizabeth Thomas, signed and dated (1970) by Jim Burns, with a handful of minor manuscript corrections. Eight poems and stories, including “The Drifter”, “The Bohemian Girl”, “The Swinger”, etc.
Post 8vo (21cm). 12pp. Original white stapled wrappers, lettered and decorated in red; a few very minor marks, but a good copy.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 13374 – or simply click on the button

CAMPBELL, Duine (Alasdair Duine) : [CHRISTMAS CARDS].

CAMPBELL, Duine (Alasdair Duine) : [CHRISTMAS CARDS].

Kidderminster / Droitwich : Black Knight Press, 1980-1985. A collection of six 1980s cards from the Black Knight Press, five signed by Duine Campbell, two with poems, two with illustrations of Home Farm, one blank, and one also inscribed “Black Knight still in abeyance ...”. With one duplicate.
Six items. Various sizes. Very good indeed.

£25

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 10909 – or simply click on the button

CHARLTON, George, 1950- : THE LOST BOYS.

CHARLTON, George, 1950- : THE LOST BOYS.

Newcastle upon Tyne : Echo Room Press, 1986. First edition. Twelve poems, including “The Bathing Class”, “For Any Old Man”, etc., from the Gateshead poet.
Demy 8vo (22cm). [16]pp. Original light blue stapled wrappers, lettered and decorated in a design by Eric Charlton on upper wrapper; lightly bruised; staples a little rusted, but otherwise a very good copy.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 18703 – or simply click on the button

CHIARI, Joseph, -1989 : THE EAGLE OF PROMETHEUS.

CHIARI, Joseph, -1989 : THE EAGLE OF PROMETHEUS.

Ashford : Hand & Flower Press, (1953). First edition. A collection of forty-one poems from the Corsican-born poet and diplomat, friend and biographer of T. S. Eliot. Includes “Enigma”, “Journey under the Sea”, “Let there be Peace”, etc.
Crown 8vo (19cm). (70),[ii]pp. Original marbled wrapperss, lettered in darker grey; slightly bruised, but still a very good copy.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 18707 – or simply click on the button

CHURCH, Richard, 1893-1972 : THE GLANCE BACKWARD : NEW POEMS.

CHURCH, Richard, 1893-1972 : THE GLANCE BACKWARD : NEW POEMS.

London : J. M. Dent & Sons, (1930). First edition : limited to 750 copies. A collection of sixty-two poems, with illustrations by the gifted Robert Austin (1895-1973). Includes “Water Music”, “Solstices”, “The Winter Students”, etc.
Foolscap 8vo (18cm). (xii),(92)pp. Illustrations. Original fawn buckram, blocked and lettered in gilt; top edge gilt; very mild tanning of endpapers, but otherwise a very good copy.

£15

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 28443 – or simply click on the button

CLEGG, Arthur (Arthur Duckering), 1914-1994 : PICTURES OF THE THIRTIES : A LETTER TO MARY.

CLEGG, Arthur (Arthur Duckering), 1914-1994 : PICTURES OF THE THIRTIES : A LETTER TO MARY.

London : Reality Press, (1975). First edition. A presentation copy, inscribed “Best wishes” and initialled on the title-page by the author, the influential political activist Arthur Clegg. Loosely inserted is an accompanying signed single-page 1976 autograph letter from Clegg to the recipient, a Mrs Thomas. A long poem, illustrated by Jan Flavell.
Foolscap 4to (22cm). (20)pp. Original stapled wrappers – a design in black and white by Jan Flavell; lightly tanned at edges, but otherwise a very good copy. No copy of this edition located in any major library worldwide.

£40

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 12146 – or simply click on the button

CLIFFORD, Johnathon : SOME VAST AND HIDEOUS ARMY.

CLIFFORD, Johnathon : SOME VAST AND HIDEOUS ARMY.

Fareham : Privately Printed, (1987). First edition. Inscribed, signed and dated (1987) by Johnathon Clifford. Fifteen poems, including “Doomsday”, “Frigidity – The Common Place”, “Nightmare”, etc.
Foolscap 4to (21cm). (v),15pp. Original salmon-pink stapled wrappers, lettered in purple; faintly sunned, but otherwise very good.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 13457 – or simply click on the button

COLES, Gladys Mary : SINERVA AND OTHER POEMS.

COLES, Gladys Mary : SINERVA AND OTHER POEMS.

West Kirby : Headland Publications, (1977). First edition. . Nineteen poems from the Liverpool poet, including “City Bees”, “Sequence for Thomas Hardy”, “Chimeras”, etc. “An exhilarating poet ... phrases that catch the moment perfectly” (Poetry Post).
Demy 8vo (21cm). [i],31pp. Original white stapled wrappers, printed in black and blue; a few faint marks, but a very good copy of a scarce and fragile production.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 11097 – or simply click on the button

COLES, Gladys Mary : THE SNOW BIRD SEQUENCE.

COLES, Gladys Mary : THE SNOW BIRD SEQUENCE.

West Kirby : Headland Publications, (1983). First edition. Signed by Gladys Mary Coles on the title-page. A poem in four parts, with illustrations.
Crown 4to (23cm). [24]pp. Original light blue stapled wrappers, lettered in white; a hint of sunning, but a very good copy.

£15

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 11098 – or simply click on the button

CURTIS, Simon, 1943-2013 : SPORTS EXTRA : NEW AND SELECTED POEMS.

CURTIS, Simon, 1943-2013 : SPORTS EXTRA : NEW AND SELECTED POEMS.

Todmorden : Littlewood Press, (1988). First edition. A collection of forty poems, thirty previously unpublished in book form, from the Burnley-born poet. Includes “Thinking of Matthew Arnold on the M62”, “Leaving Towcester Vicarage”, “Picasso, Late Drawings, at Geneva”, etc. “How rare it is these days to come across a good new poet (one who attracts on a first reading and yet requires many subsequent ones to be fully appreciated)” – (Kingsley Amis).
Foolscap 4to (21cm). (52)pp. Original white wrappers, decorated and printed in black, maroon, orange and blue design by Stephen Pickles; very good.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 18908 – or simply click on the button

DAVIES, W.H. (William Henry), 1871-1940 : FAREWELL TO POESY AND OTHER PIECES.

DAVIES, W.H. (William Henry), 1871-1940 : FAREWELL TO POESY AND OTHER PIECES.

London : A. C. Fifield, 1910. First edition : with the advertisements at rear and on lower cover dated February 21, 1910. Thirty-seven poems, including “On Expecting Some Books”.
Foolscap 8vo (18cm). 60,[iv]pp. Original grey boards, printed in black; some spotting, mainly of edges, endleaves and prelims, but a very good, crisp and partly unopened copy of this fragile production.

£25

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 28446 – or simply click on the button

DAVIES, W.H. (William Henry), 1871-1940 : NATURE.

DAVIES, W.H. (William Henry), 1871-1940 : NATURE.

London : B. T. Batsford, (1914). First edition. An autobiographical essay, interspersed with some poems. In the Fellowship Books series.
Foolscap 8vo (18cm). [ii],(56),[ii]pp. Original blue cloth, ruled, blocked and lettered in gilt; top edge gilt; lightly sunned; a few spots, but otherwise a very good copy. Contemporary (1918) ownership inscription.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 28491 – or simply click on the button

DONALDSON, David : WINGS AND AIR : POEMS.

DONALDSON, David : WINGS AND AIR : POEMS.

Bridport : Monkton Wyld Court Publications, (1986). First edition. His first collection – thirty-four poems, including “Missing Hen”, “To Our Unborn Child”, “Sea on a Stormy Night”, etc.
Foolscap 4to (21cm). [40]pp. Original blue stapled wrappers, lettered and decorated in black; edges of wrappers a little spotted, but otherwise a good copy.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 11904 – or simply click on the button

DUNN, Douglas (Douglas Eaglesham), 1942- : THE HAPPIER LIFE.

DUNN, Douglas (Douglas Eaglesham), 1942- : THE HAPPIER LIFE.

London : Faber & Faber, (1972). First edition. Signed by Douglas Dunn on the title-page. An early collection of thirty-nine poems, including "Modern Love", "A Faber Melancholy", etc.
Post 8vo (21cm). 72pp. Original blue boards, lettered in gilt; very good indeed in the dust-jacket – also very good.

£40

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 40515 – or simply click on the button

EVANS, Paul, 1945-1991 : PROKOFIEV’S CONCERTO.

EVANS, Paul, 1945-1991 : PROKOFIEV’S CONCERTO.

Brighton : Skylark Press, (1975). First edition : one of twenty-six lettered copies (of 250) signed by Paul Evans. Eleven poems, including “To Be Shouted from the Roof”, “Nachtmusik”, “Dreaming With You”, etc.
Foolscap 4to (21cm). [24]pp. Original blue stapled wrappers, lettered and decorated in black in a design by Sian Bailey; very good.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 11209 – or simply click on the button

EWART, Gavin (Gavin Buchanan), 1916-1995 : THE GAVIN EWART SHOW : POEMS BY GAVIN EWART.

EWART, Gavin (Gavin Buchanan), 1916-1995 : THE GAVIN EWART SHOW : POEMS BY GAVIN EWART.

London : Trigram Press, (1971). First edition : the wrappers issue. Signed by Gavin Ewart on the title-page, with the date of January 1976 in another hand. A collection of thirty-nine poems — as Philip Larkin noted, “well-shaped pieces, freaked with pain and absurdity” — including “On the Death of an Unpleasant Executive”, “People Will Say We’re in Love”, “Soho and West, Saturday Morning”, “Intimations of Mortality on the Lower Richmond Road”, “The Only Emperor is the Emperor of Ice Cream”, etc.
Foolscap 4to (21cm). (64)pp. Title-page and cover designs by Michael Foreman. Original flesh-coloured (the publisher’s description) wrappers, printed in brown and puce; a very good copy.

£25

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 44915 — or simply click on the button

FAIRFAX, John, 1930-2009 : BONE HARVEST DONE.

FAIRFAX, John, 1930-2009 : BONE HARVEST DONE.

London : Sidgwick & Jackson, (1980). First edition. Inscribed and signed by John Fairfax on the title-page. A collection of forty-two poems, including “If Death Be Dark”, “December on the Downs”, “The Zennor Road”, etc.
Demy 8vo (22cm). iv,60pp. Original silver wrappers, printed in purple; upper wrapper a little creased; faint marking to title-page, but a good copy.

£15

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 19276 – or simply click on the button

FAIRFAX, John, 1930-2009 : WILD CHILDREN.

FAIRFAX, John, 1930-2009 : WILD CHILDREN.

Newbury : Phoenix Press, 1985. First edition. Inscribed and signed by John Fairfax on the title-page. A collection of twenty poems, including “Bloodflowers”, “Ghost Dance”, “Wolf Child”, etc.
Narrow demy 8vo (21cm). (48)pp. Original pale pink wrappers, decorated in red and lettered in maroon; very good.

£15

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 13726 – or simply click on the button

FISHER, A.S.T. (Arthur Stanley Theodore), 1906-1989 : SELECTED POEMS.

FISHER, A.S.T. (Arthur Stanley Theodore), 1906-1989 : SELECTED POEMS.

Oxford : by the Author, (1978). First edition. A selection of forty-two poems from the years 1925-1975. A presentation copy – loosely inserted is a 1980 single-page signed autograph letter from Fisher to the late B. C. Bloomfield, both making a gift of the book and discussing Fisher’s unpublished autobiography “At Auden’s Oxford” (it was Fisher who introduced Auden to Isherwood). Also inserted is the author’s flyer for the book, with autobiographical notes, etc.
Foolscap 4to (21cm). [vi],(66)pp. Original pale blue wrappers, lettered and decorated on upper wrapper in black; a few faint marks, but a very good copy.

£25

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 27977 – or simply click on the button

FISHER, Janet, 1943- : RAW : POEMS.

FISHER, Janet, 1943- : RAW : POEMS.

Huddersfield : Wide Skirt Press, 1990. First edition. Inscribed and signed by Janet Fisher. Twenty poems, including “Bedsit”, “Pateley Bridge”, “Tome or Not Tome”, etc.
Foolscap 4to (22cm). [24]pp. Original orange stapled wrappers, lettered in black; very good indeed.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 19302 – or simply click on the button

GARDINER, Wrey (Charles Wrey), 1901-1981 : SHARP SCORPIONS : POEMS.

GARDINER, Wrey (Charles Wrey), 1901-1981 : SHARP SCORPIONS : POEMS.

Billericay : Grey Walls Press, 1941 [i.e.1940]. First edition. A scarce early collection of sixty-one poems, including “Escaped Parrot”, “Old City Walls”, “Fair Maids of February”, etc.
Crown 8vo (19cm). [xiv],(74)pp. Original grey canvas, lettered in green; top edge just a touch dusty, but a very good copy in the original pink and blue marbled dust-jacket – a little worn and slightly sunned. Dated contemporary gift inscription (1941) to N. K. Banister from B. P. on fly.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 22059 – or simply click on the button

GARDINER, Wrey (Charles Wrey), 1901-1981 : POEMS.

GARDINER, Wrey (Charles Wrey), 1901-1981 : POEMS.

London : Enitharmon Press, (1980). First edition : limited to 100 numbered copies. Six poems.
Post 8vo (20cm). [12]pp. Portrait frontispiece by Nina Hamnett. Original plain tan wrappers; very good indeed in the original tan dust-jacket with white label, lettered in black.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 11258 – or simply click on the button

GOWAR, Mick (Michael Robert), 1951- : SO FAR SO GOOD : POEMS.

GOWAR, Mick (Michael Robert), 1951- : SO FAR SO GOOD : POEMS.

London : Penguin Books, (1989). Second edition : a revised version of the original 1986 collection. Inscribed, signed and dated (1990) by Mick Gowar. Twenty-four poems, including “King of the Kurzel”, “Space Invader”, “The Blind Eye of the Little Sony God”, etc.
Post 8vo (20cm). (80)pp. Original pictorial wrappers – a design by Debbie Hinks; very good.

£15

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 28241 – or simply click on the button

GRAHAM, Henry, 1930-2019 : GOOD LUCK TO YOU KAFKA / YOU’LL NEED IT BOSS.

GRAHAM, Henry, 1930-2019 : GOOD LUCK TO YOU KAFKA / YOU’LL NEED IT BOSS.

London : Rapp & Whiting, (1969). First edition : one of 100 numbered copies signed by Henry Graham. A collection of forty-five poems from the Liverpool poet, including “Egg Plant in Paradise Street”, “Ten Samuel Palmer Paintings”, “Goldfish Room”, etc.
Post 8vo (21cm). [ii],62,[ii]pp. Original black boards, lettered in gilt; a few slight spots; small neat decorative stamp on front free endpaper, but a good copy in the original Lawrence Edwards dust-jacket – a design in black and white – price-clipped, slightly worn and lightly rubbed.

£25

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 11287 – or simply click on the button

GRAHAM, Henry, 1930-2019 : PASSPORT TO EARTH.

GRAHAM, Henry, 1930- : PASSPORT TO EARTH.

London : Rapp & Whiting / André Deutsch, (1971). First edition : the hardback issue. Signed by Henry Graham on the title-page. A collection of twenty-nine poems from the Liverpool poet, including “Breakfast with Kafka”, “The Waltz of the Sea”, “Birds Make Ornithologists”, etc. “From his earliest output to the very end, his highly recognisable poetic voice had a distinctive style based on a dry, ironic wit” (from Brian Wake’s Guardian obituary, 20th March 2019).
Demy 8vo (23cm). (48)pp. Original blue-brown weave boards; very good in the original Kaye Bellman dust-jacket – a design in black, red and white – just faintly spotted on inner flaps, but also very good.

£25

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 11288 – or simply click on the button

GRAHAM, Henry, 1930-2019 : THE VERY FRAGANT DEATH OF PAUL GAUGUIN.

GRAHAM, Henry, 1930-2019 : THE VERY FRAGANT DEATH OF PAUL GAUGUIN.

Hungerford : Rivelin Grapheme Press, 1987. First edition. Inscribed and signed by Henry Graham. Thirty-four poems, with illustrations by Don McKinlay. Includes “Yellow Morning”, “Terminal Ward”, “Bedtime with Kafka”, etc.
Foolscap 4to (22cm). (52)pp. Original white wrappers, lettered in black and illustrated in red; very good.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 13919 – or simply click on the button

GRUBB, Frederick (Frederick Stuart), 1930-2017 : TITLE DEEDS AND OTHER POEMS.

GRUBB, Frederick (Frederick Stuart), 1930-2017 : TITLE DEEDS AND OTHER POEMS.

London : Longmans, Green & Co., (1961). First edition. Inscribed (to John Mander) and signed by Frederick Grubb on front free endpaper. A collection of thirty-one poems, including “Fly-Web”, “Eisenstein”, “Forgery”, “Rasputin”, etc.
Demy 8vo (23cm). [vi],42pp. Original blue cloth, blocked in green and gilt on upper cover, and lettered in gilt; faintly bruised at tip of spine, otherwise a very good copy indeed in the original acetate dust-jacket.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 14656 – or simply click on the button

HALSEY, Alan, 1949- : KLONDYKE.

HALSEY, Alan, 1949- : KLONDYKE.

Newcastle upon Tyne : Galloping Dog Press, 1985. First edition. A collection of eighteen poems and text sequences.
Post 4to (27cm). [30]pp. Original cream wrappers, ruled, lettered and with two Halsey designs in black; very slightly dusty and bruised, but still a very good copy.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 11347 – or simply click on the button

HEATH-STUBBS, John (John Francis Alexander), 1918-2006 : [TWO LETTERS].

HEATH-STUBBS, John (John Francis Alexander), 1918-2006 : [TWO LETTERS].

[London : 1952]. Two interesting signed autograph manuscript letters (2pp and 3pp) from Heath-Stubbs to the poet James [Kirkup] – both addressed from 13-1/2 Addison Crescent. Although undated, the content of the letters – Heath-Stubbs replacing Kirkup as Gregory Fellow in poetry at Leeds, his work in editing “The Faber Book of Twentieth Century Verse” (published 1953), etc., – seems to place them firmly to a period early in 1952. The letters also refer to the soliciting and acceptance of three Kirkup poems, a query over the copyright and fee for one required for the Faber anthology, learning the ropes at Leeds, a letter written to [Bonamy] Dobrée accepting the post at Leeds (“the post I was hoping for, at Salonika, fell through”), etc.
Two letters. Various sizes. The first letter a little marked, with a small patch almost obliterating the recipient’s name, but otherwise in very good state.

£40

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 17130 – or simply click on the button

HENRI, Adrian, 1932-2000 : AUTOBIOGRAPHY.

HENRI, Adrian, 1932-2000 : AUTOBIOGRAPHY.

London : Jonathan Cape, (1971). First edition : the hardback issue. A presentation copy, inscribed by the author to his publisher, the late Tom Maschler (1933-2020) — “for Tom, new poems for my new publisher — with love thanks”, signed in full, and dated January 1972. Autobiographical poem sequences from the most senior of the “Mersey Sound” poets — pre-war Liverpool, wartime in Rhyl, student days in Paris, a holiday in Norway, dialectics in Hampstead, Aldermaston marches, schoolteacher in the provinces, return to Liverpool and growing fame as performer, poet and painter.
Demy 8vo (23cm). 46,[ii]pp. Original lavender-grey boards, blocked and lettered in gilt; a very good, clean, and sound copy in the M. Mohan dust-jacket — the jacket with some faint suggestion of wear to the extremities, but also very good.

£200

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 44943 — or simply click on the button

HOROVITZ, Frances (Frances Margaret Hooker), 1938-1983 : A CELEBRATION OF AND FOR FRANCES HOROVITZ (1938-1983).

HOROVITZ, Frances (Frances Margaret Hooker), 1938-1983 : A CELEBRATION OF AND FOR FRANCES HOROVITZ (1938-1983).

Stroud : New Departures, 1984. First edition. A memorial selection of Frances Horovitz poems, with poems in her honour by Kathleen Raine, Jeff Nuttall, Michael Horovitz, etc. Edited by Michael Horovitz.
Demy 8vo (22cm). 56pp. Photo illustrations. Original white stapled wrappers, printed in black; slight discolouration to wrappers; inked telephone numbers to verso of upper wrapper, but a good copy.

£15

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 25142 – or simply click on the button

HOROVITZ, Frances (Frances Margaret Hooker), 1938-1983 : A CELEBRATION OF AND FOR FRANCES HOROVITZ (1938-1983).

HOROVITZ, Frances (Frances Margaret Hooker), 1938-1983 : A CELEBRATION OF AND FOR FRANCES HOROVITZ (1938-1983).

Stroud : New Departures, 1984. Second edition : adds three poems, fifteen photographs and the Jane Percival portrait to the original publication issued earlier in 1984. A memorial selection of Frances Horovitz poems, with poems in her honour by Kathleen Raine, Jeff Nuttall, Michael Horovitz, etc. Edited by Michael Horovitz.
Demy 8vo (21cm). 56pp. Photo illustrations. Original photographic stapled wrappers; lightly used and slightly rubbed, but a good copy.

£15

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 34214 – or simply click on the button

HOUSTON, Libby (Elizabeth Maynard), 1941- : A LITTLE TREACHERY.

HOUSTON, Libby (Elizabeth Maynard), 1941- : A LITTLE TREACHERY.

London : Circle Press, 1990. First edition : limited to 120 numbered copies. A poem.
Foolscap folio (30cm). [12]pp – the two central leaves folding out to display a hand-coloured drypoint by Julia Farrer. Original dove-grey wrappers, lettered in black; very good indeed.

£50

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 11575 – or simply click on the button

JACCOTTET, Philippe, 1925- : THROUGH AN ORCHARD.

JACCOTTET, Philippe, 1925- : THROUGH AN ORCHARD.

Portree : Aquila Publishing Co., (1978). First edition in English of “A Travers un Verger” (1975), translated and with an essay on Jaccottet’s poetry by Mark Treharne. A special issue (No. 9) of the review “Prospice”.
Foolscap 4to (22cm). (48)pp. Original white laminated wrappers, printed in tan; just a touch bruised; a few slight marks, but a very good copy.

£15

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 25147 – or simply click on the button

JAMES, John, 1939- : STRIKING THE PAVILION OF ZERO.

JAMES, John, 1939- : STRIKING THE PAVILION OF ZERO.

London : Ian McKelvie, 1975. First edition : one of 400 copies (of 425) on ordinary paper. A collection of eighteen poems, including “Talking in Bed”, “Rough”, “The Dragon House”, etc.
Crown 4to (22cm). (38),[ii]pp. Original white stapled wrappers; a very good copy in the original David Chaloner dust-jacket – white, lettered in black and with a design in green, blue, brown and ochre – the jacket just faintly marked and lightly tanned.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 11610 – or simply click on the button

JAY, Peter (Peter Anthony Charles), 1945- – editor : NEW MEASURE : A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF POETRY.

JAY, Peter (Peter Anthony Charles), 1945- – editor : NEW MEASURE : A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF POETRY.

Oxford / Northwood : Donald Parsons & Co. / Peter Jay, 1965-1969. A complete run of all ten issues of Jay’s sixties poetry magazine, including new poems by W. H. Auden (1), Gavin Bantock (18), Alan Brownjohn (1), Jack Clemo (1), Marcus Cumberlege (9), Louise Glück (13), Lee Harwood (4), John Heath-Stubbs (3), Anselm Hollo (3), Michael Horovitz (2), Peter Levi (3), Christopher Middleton (2), Tom Raworth (7), Vernon Scannell (1), Peter Scupham (3), Gary Snyder (7), D. M. Thomas (8), etc.
Ten issues. Demy 8vo (23cm). Bound, retaining original wrappers, etc., in a smart red buckram; very good.

£50

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 25144 – or simply click on the button

JENKINS, Alan, 1955- : GREENHEART.

JENKINS, Alan, 1955- : GREENHEART.

London : Chatto & Windus, (1990). First edition. Signed and dated (1996) by Alan Jenkins. A collection of twenty-seven poems, including “Babes”, “The Night Watch”, “The London Dissector”, etc.
Post 8vo (20cm). 64pp. Original pictorial wrappers, a design primarily in grey and green, with a Francis Bacon picture on upper wrapper; some minor creasing, but a very good copy.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 15683 – or simply click on the button

JONES, R.H. (Robert Hughes) : CANEUON.

JONES, R.H. (Robert Hughes) : CANEUON.

Lerpwl [Liverpool] : Hugh Evans a’i Feibion, 1927. First edition. An extensive collection of some 150 poems (Telynegion and Adroddiadau) in Welsh.
Crown 8vo (20cm). 160pp. Original grey patterned wrappers, printed in black and green; just a little rubbed and worn; some minor spotting; but a very good copy of a scarce work. Name crossed through on half-title.

£25

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 26347 – or simply click on the button

JOSEPH, Jenny (Jenefer Ruth), 1932-2018 : BEYOND DESCARTES.

JOSEPH, Jenny (Jenefer Ruth), 1932-2018 : BEYOND DESCARTES.

London : Martin Secker & Warburg, (1983). First edition. Signed by Jenny Joseph on the title-page. A collection of twenty-six poems, including “Truth v Biology”, “Living Off Other People – Welfare”, “Dipping for Diamonds”, etc.
Demy 8vo (23cm). (60),[iv]pp. Original grey cloth, lettered in gilt; very good in the original grey, black and white dust-jacket – very slightly bruised at extremities and price-clipped.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 14172 – or simply click on the button

KNIGHT, John, 1906-1975 : OTHER CAUSES OF LOVE : POEMS.

KNIGHT, John, 1906-1975 : OTHER CAUSES OF LOVE : POEMS.

Todmorden : Manchester Institute of Contemporary Arts, (1969). First edition. Fifteen poems. MICA Poets No. 10.
Pott 4to (17cm). [12]pp. Original red stapled wrappers, ruled and lettered in black; very good.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 16164 – or simply click on the button

LALIC, Ivan V., 1931-1996 : THE PASSIONATE MEASURE.

LALIC, Ivan V., 1931-1996 : THE PASSIONATE MEASURE.

Dublin : Dedalus Press, (1989). First complete edition in English of “Strasna Mera”. Fifty-two poems from a major European poet, translated by Francis R. Jones. This copy signed by both Lalic and the translator.
Demy 8vo (22cm). (94),[ii]pp. Original white and maroon pictorial wrappers; very good indeed.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 16178 – or simply click on the button

LOMAS, Herbert, 1924-2011 : FIRE IN THE GARDEN.

LOMAS, Herbert, 1924-2011 : FIRE IN THE GARDEN.

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1984. First edition. Inscribed, signed and dated (1984) by Herbert Lomas. A collection thirty-eight poems, including “St. Martin in the Fields”, “Nunhead Cemetery”, “Murder in the Public Sector”, etc.
Demy 8vo (22cm). 64pp. Original pictorial monochrome wrappers, lettered in red and white; a touch rubbed, but very good.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 16216 – or simply click on the button

LOPEZ, Antony, 1950- : [SIGNED TYPESCRIPTS].

LOPEZ, Antony, 1950- : [SIGNED TYPESCRIPTS].

[London : ca.1985]. A collection of photocopies of the original typescripts of fifteen Lopez poems, each signed by Tony Lopez. Lopez was the author of “Abstract and Delicious Poems” (1982), etc.
Demy 4to. Sixteen sheets (30cm). Folded into an envelope addressed to the poet and novelist, Iain Sinclair – the envelope post-marked 1985.

£40

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 12457 – or simply click on the button

McGOUGH, Roger (Roger Joseph), 1937- : AFTER THE MERRYMAKING.

McGOUGH, Roger (Roger Joseph), 1937- : AFTER THE MERRYMAKING.

London : Jonathan Cape, (1971). First edition : the scarce hardback issue. At that time probably better-known for his membership of “The Scaffold”, and in particular “Lily the Pink”, but here with his third solo collection of poems and already en route to becoming President of the Poetry Society. Forty-seven poems in three sequences — “There is the off-beat sense of humour and the compulsive juggling with sounds and appearances of words. But behind the smile is a very serious man with a highly individualistic perception, savagely satirical, and surprisingly lyrical” (Belfast Telegraph, 3rd December 1971).
Demy 8vo (23cm). (72)pp. Original brown boards, blocked and lettered in gilt; tiny bruise to one corner; a few faint spots to front endpaper, but otherwise a very good, clean and sound copy in M. Mohan dust-jacket — the jacket, barring a handful of spots to front flap and the merest suggestion of rubbing to head, in excellent state.

£125

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 44932 – or simply click on the button

McKUEN, Rod (Rodney Marvin), 1933-2015 : LONESOME CITIES.

McKUEN, Rod (Rodney Marvin), 1933-2015 : LONESOME CITIES.

London : Michael Joseph, (1971). First British edition. Signed by McKuen on the half-title. A collection of over forty love poems and lyrics from the Californian singer-songwriter — “The Art of Catching Trains”, followed by poems for San Francisco, Paris, Venice, London, Cheyenne, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Gstaad, and two further sequences. Reportedly the best-selling poet in history at that point, with his own television show on the BBC in 1971 — “The masses ate him up with a spoon, while highbrow literary critics roasted him on a spit” (Julia Keller). Interesting now to contrast his reputation with that of his friend and frequent collaborator, Jacques Brel.
Demy 8vo (22cm). [viii],(112),[vi]pp. Original fawn cloth, lettered in silver; just a little bruised; top edge spotted, but otherwise a very good copy in the David Nutter dust-jacket — the jacket a little rubbed and worn, but complete and without tears. Contemporary ownership inscription of Yvette Smith of the Wirral.

£25

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 45019 – or simply click on the button

MAYAKOVSKY, Vladimir (Vladimir Ilyushchenko), 1893-1930 : MAYAKOVSKY AND HIS POETRY.

MAYAKOVSKY, Vladimir (Vladimir Ilyushchenko), 1893-1930 : MAYAKOVSKY AND HIS POETRY.

London : Pilot Press, [1942]. First edition. The first extensive collection of Mayakovsky’s work to appear in English – with his autobiographical “I Myself”, poems from the various periods of his career, a selection of his illustrations, etc. Compiled and edited by Herbert Marshall, who also provides the majority of the translations.
Crown 8vo (19cm). iv,(152)pp. Plates. Illustrations. Original plain white wrappers; text a little browned, but a very good copy in the original dust-jacket printed in red-brown and black – the jacket just lightly used.

£40

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 24260 – or simply click on the button

MEREDITH, Christopher, 1954- : SNARING HEAVEN.

MEREDITH, Christopher, 1954- : SNARING HEAVEN.

Bridgend : Seren Books, (1990). First edition. A collection of thirty-nine poems, including “On Hay Bridge”, “Monsters”, “Margam Park”, etc. “He writes with freedom and perhaps unfashionable eloquence” (Michael Hofman).
Post 8vo (20cm). 80pp. Original pictorial wrappers; very good indeed.

£10

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 16521 – or simply click on the button

MORTON, J.B. (John Bingham), 1893-1979 : THE DANCING CABMAN AND OTHER VERSES.

MORTON, J.B. (John Bingham), 1893-1979 : THE DANCING CABMAN AND OTHER VERSES.

London : Frederick Muller, (1938). First edition. The collected edition of Morton’s ‘Beachcomber’ verses – including some previously unpublished. With illustrations and decorations by Nicolas Bentley. Includes “Horrible Araminta”, “Lovely Big Cow”, “The Danger of Queer Hats”, “Epitaph for a Foolish Lady”, “Song for a Hunted Financier” – and the Zoological Verses: “I think the hippopotamus, Is really almost one of us; Even the way he eats his grub, Reminds me of the Savage Club ...”.
Crown 8vo (20cm). [iv],(160)pp. Original blue cloth, lettered in darker blue; some tanning of endpapers, but a very good, bright and firm copy in the original Nicolas Bentley dust-jacket – a design in orange, white, yellow and black – faintly sunned, price-clipped, slightly nicked, small chip from lower panel, and with some small tape reinforcements on verso.

£50

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 27840 – or simply click on the button

MOTION, Andrew (Sir Andrew), 1952- : A LONG STORY.

MOTION, Andrew (Sir Andrew), 1952- : A LONG STORY.

Bath : Old School Press, 2001. First edition : one of twenty copies (of 230) reserved in sheets for binders and signed by both Andrew Motion and the illustrator, Simon Brett. Four extended poems from the then Poet Laureate, delicately hand-printed on Magnani paper, illustrated with evocative and atmospheric wood-engravings by Simon Brett.
Post 4to (271 x 190mm). [48]pp. Four wood-engraved illustrations. Bound in black morocco, with delicately shaded pale morocco onlays, in an exquisite designer binding by Kate Holland, winner of the 2006 Mansfield Medal and First Prize for Best Book in the annual Designer Binders competition – the present binding dating from the same period; delicately marbled edges and endpapers; the binding housed in its original velvet-lined black cloth box, decorated with a crescent moon. A fine copy of a beautiful book.

£2,000

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 44018 – or simply click on the button

NATIONS, Opal L. (Opal Louis), 1941- : THE FAT WING LUNG COMPANY POEMS.

NATIONS, Opal L. (Opal Louis), 1941- : THE FAT WING LUNG COMPANY POEMS.

[San Francisco : Privately Published, 1974]. First edition. A collection of thirty-eight poems from the Brighton-born singer and poet. Includes “How to Use Your Head to Exert Dominance”, “How to Use Your Head to be a Machine”, “How to Erect your Christmas Tree”, etc.
Demy 8vo (23cm). [48]pp. Portraits. Original monochrome stapled wrappers; staples slightly rusted, but otherwise very good. A few inked marks to text. Just two copies (Cambridge and V&A) located in major libraries worldwide.

£25

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 16779 – or simply click on the button

O’NEILL, Michael, 1953- : THE STRIPPED BED.

O’NEILL, Michael, 1953- : THE STRIPPED BED.

London : Collins Harvill, 1990. First edition. His first poetry collection – forty-eight poems, including “Airfix”, “An Imperfect Spy”, “Zip Code”, etc. – from the award-winning poet. “Once or twice in a decade, certainly not more often, an original talent emerges” (Alan Ross).
Demy 8vo (22cm). 64pp. Original white and blue wrappers, lettered in black, and with a Michael Andrews painting in colour on upper wrapper; very good.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 16850 – or simply click on the button

ORDE, Julian, 1917-1974 : CONJURORS.

ORDE, Julian, 1917-1974 : CONJURORS.

Warwick : Greville Press, (1988). First edition of this Orde poem, found amongst her papers after her death in 1974. With an introduction by David Wright, who hails this lost poem as her masterpiece.
Demy 8vo (22cm). [vi],12,[ii]pp. Original tan wrappers, lettered in black and decorated in red; slight strip of sunning to lower wrapper, but a otherwise a very good copy.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 16823 – or simply click on the button

OXLEY, William, 1939- : THE ‘ICON’ POEMS.

OXLEY, William, 1939- : THE ‘ICON’ POEMS.

Esher : Ember Press, 1972. First edition. A collection of twenty-four poems, with illustrations by H. Wilkinson. Includes “The Lanes of Memory”, “The Modern Exile”, “Dorset 1952”, etc.
Post 8vo (21cm). 44pp. Original white wrappers, printed in black; a few tiny spots, but overall very good.

£15

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 12003 – or simply click on the button

PARR, Stephen, 1947- : TANTRIS.

PARR, Stephen, 1947- : TANTRIS.

London : Pennyfields Press, (1986). First edition : one of 100 regular copies (of 120). A long poem in ten parts, with photo illustrations, notes, etc.
Crown 4to (24cm). (32)pp. Original monochrome pictorial wrappers; very good.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 29535 – or simply click on the button

PATTEN, Brian, 1946- : THE IRRELEVANT SONG.

PATTEN, Brian, 1946- : THE IRRELEVANT SONG.

London : George Allen & Unwin, (1971). First edition : the hardback issue. His third collection of poetry — over forty poems, including “At Four O’Clock in the Morning”, “Through All Your Abstract Reasoning”, “Heroine Bitches”, “Interruption at the Opera House”, etc. “A sensibility profoundly aware of the ever-present possibility of the magical and the miraculous, as well as of the granite-hard realities. These are undiluted poems, beautifully calculated, informed — even in their darkest moments — with courage and hope” (Charles Causley).
Demy 8vo (23cm). 64pp. Original black cloth, lettered in silver; top edge black; an excellent copy, bright, clean, and sound, in the Meg Rutherford dust-jacket — the jacket equally good, fresh, and unworn.

£75

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 44958 – or simply click on the button

PAZ, Octavio, 1914-1998 : CONFIGURATIONS.

PAZ, Octavio, 1914-1998 : CONFIGURATIONS.

London : Jonathan Cape, (1971). First edition in English. The first major collection of poetry by the Mexican Nobel Prize winner to be published in the British Isles — Paz at that time lecturing at Cambridge. Poems from his collections “Salamandra” (1958-1961) and “Ladera Este” (1962-1968), together with the stand-alone poems “Sun Stone” (1957) and “Blanco” (1966) — all given in parallel Spanish and English text versions — the translations by Paul Blackburn, Denise Levertov, Muriel Rukeyser, Charles Tomlinson and others, as well as Paz himself.
Demy 8vo (23cm). [x],198pp. Original aubergine boards, blocked and lettered in gilt; slightly bruised at head; top edge a little spotted, but otherwise a very good copy in the Leigh Taylor dust-jacket — the jacket just a touch sunned, but with only the faintest signs of use and also very good.

£50

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 45017 – or simply click on the button

PEARCE, Brian Louis, 1933- : THE ARGONAUTS & OTHER POEMS.

PEARCE, Brian Louis, 1933- : THE ARGONAUTS & OTHER POEMS.

Alyth : Quarto Press, (1970). First edition : limited to 320 numbered copies. A collection of twenty-seven poems, with a woodcut illustration by Roger Bennett in two colours. Includes “The Chinese Puppet-Master”, “Paignton Harbour”, “Burghclere”, etc.
Foolscap 4to (21cm). [36]pp. Original buff yellow stapled wrappers, printed and decorated in red and black; lightly sunned; just a hint of rusting to staples, but a very good copy, with the publisher’s flyer loosely inserted.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 27379 – or simply click on the button

PLOMER, William (William Charles Franklyn), 1903-1973 : A CHOICE OF BALLADS.

PLOMER, William (William Charles Franklyn), 1903-1973 : A CHOICE OF BALLADS.

London : for Private Distribution by Jonathan Cape, 1960. First edition : limited to 350 numbered copies, signed by William Plomer and intended as a Christmas gift from the publisher. A card with the publisher’s Christmas good wishes is loosely inserted. Twelve poems selected from Plomer’s “Collected Poems”, including “A Ticket for the Reading Room”, “Mews Flat Mona”, “The Caledonian Market”, etc.
Demy 8vo (23cm). 48pp. Original quarter red buckram, grey-green patterned boards, blocked and lettered in red and gold; top edge red; slight spotting to prelims, but otherwise a very good copy in the original acetate dust-jacket – just very faintly nicked.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 28487 – or simply click on the button

PRESS, John (John Bryant) 1920-2007 : UNCERTAINTIES AND OTHER POEMS.

PRESS, John (John Bryant) 1920-2007 : UNCERTAINTIES AND OTHER POEMS.

London : Oxford University Press, 1956. First edition. Signed by John Press on the title-page. His first collection – fifty-six poems, including “Unused Words”, “The Mikado”, “The Earl of Rochester”, “To a Dead Lady”, etc.
Post 8vo (21cm). viii,(104)pp. Original blue and white patterned boards, lettered in black; white title-label lettered in black on spine; a few slight marks and spots, but a very good copy in the original acetate dust-jacket – a little wrinkled and with the paper inner flaps crinkled and creased.

£25

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 16999 – or simply click on the button

PRESS, John (John Bryant) 1920-2007 : GUY FAWKES NIGHT AND OTHER POEMS.

PRESS, John (John Bryant) 1920-2007 : GUY FAWKES NIGHT AND OTHER POEMS.

London : Oxford University Press, 1959. First edition. Signed by John Press on the title-page. Loosely inserted is a 1985 2pp autograph letter from Press, signed with forename, concerning a reading by women poets, etc. A collection of fifty-five poems, including “Kipling in Excelsis”, “The Backs in February”, “Salthouse, Norfolk”, “Advice to Sadists”, etc.
Demy 8vo (23cm). (xii),68pp. Original orange cloth, lettered in silver; a few faint spots to top edge; endpapers lightly tanned, but a very good, bright and sound copy in the original dust-jacket – a design in yellow, black and red – just lightly used and sunned, but otherwise still very good.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 17004 – or simply click on the button

PRICE, Jonathan, 1931-1985 : PRIVATE VIEW.

PRICE, Jonathan, 1931-1985 : PRIVATE VIEW.

London : Valerie Parry, 1985. First edition : limited to 230 copies, signed by the illustrator, Simon Brett. A collection of nine poems, printed at the Rocket Press. Loosely inserted is a single-page 1985 signed typed letter from Anthony Baker (of the Gruffyground Press) concerning the poet’s death shortly before the collection was published.
Imperial 8vo (30cm). [16]pp. Wood engraving by Simon Brett. Original blue wrappers, with a white label on upper wrapper, lettered in black and blue; a few tiny marks, but a very good copy.

£25

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 25157 – or simply click on the button

QUAITE, Philip : MOOD OF YOU.

QUAITE, Philip : MOOD OF YOU.

Newcastle upon Tyne : Echo Room Press, 1986. First edition. A collection of seventeen poems, including “In Our Own Dark Shadow”, “Hoover Dirt Bag”, “And a Bright New Dress for You, Anna”, etc. Loosely inserted is a single-page signed 1986 autograph letter from the publisher, Brendan Cleary, discussing future publications, etc.
Demy 4to (30cm). [24]pp. Original clip-bound orange wrappers, lettered and decorated in black in a design by East Orange; slightly creased and a little bruised, but otherwise a very good copy.

£25

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 30503 – or simply click on the button

RANDELL, Elaine, 1951- : A TAPER TO THE OUTWARD ROOME.

RANDELL, Elaine, 1951- : A TAPER TO THE OUTWARD ROOME.

Newcastle upon Tyne : Laundering Room Press, 1974. First edition : limited to 200 copies. Inscribed, signed with forename and dated (1974) by Elaine Randell on the half-title. A collection of ten poems.
Foolscap 4to (21cm). [20]pp. Original black stapled wrappers, lettered across upper cover in pale pink; very good.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 12335 – or simply click on the button

RANDELL, Elaine, 1951- : BEYOND ALL OTHER : POEMS 1970-1986.

RANDELL, Elaine, 1951- : BEYOND ALL OTHER : POEMS 1970-1986.

Durham : Pig Press, 1986. First edition. A selection of fifty-three poems, with an afterword by Lee Harwood. Includes “Suddenly It Becomes Sordid”, “Drought 1976”, “Tell Them How Easy Love Is”, “Dusting”, etc.
Demy 8vo (22cm). 94,[ii]pp. Original wrappers – a design in holly, stone and black by Ann Caddel; mild spotting of edges, but a very good copy.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 17038 – or simply click on the button

REEVES, James, 1909-1978 – editor : THE PERSONAL VISION : POETRY SUPPLEMENT EDITED BY JAMES REEVES FOR THE POETRY BOOK SOCIETY. CHRISTMAS 1959.

REEVES, James, 1909-1978 – editor : THE PERSONAL VISION : POETRY SUPPLEMENT EDITED BY JAMES REEVES FOR THE POETRY BOOK SOCIETY. CHRISTMAS 1959.

London : Poetry Book Society, 1959. First edition. With poems from Edmund Blunden, Donald Davie, Elena Fearn, Terence Hards, Ewart Milne, Marnie Pomeroy, Alastair Reid, and Martin Seymour-Smith.
Crown 8vo (19cm). [12]pp. Original ivory stapled self wrappers, printed in black; very good.

£15

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 24331 – or simply click on the button

RICE, Nicky : LAZARUS RISING.

RICE, Nicky : LAZARUS RISING.

Canterbury : Yorick Books, (1984). First edition. Her first collection – twenty-three poems, including “Geriatric Ward”, “Night Stop”, “Midwinter Madness”, etc., from the winner of the 1990 National Poetry Award. Number 3 in the Yorick Poetry Pamphlet series.
Foolscap 4to (22cm). 28pp. Original mauve stapled wrappers, printed in black; very good.

£25

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 17119 – or simply click on the button

SPENCER, Bernard, 1909-1963 : THE TWIST IN THE PLOTTING : TWENTY FIVE POEMS.

SPENCER, Bernard, 1909-1963 : THE TWIST IN THE PLOTTING : TWENTY FIVE POEMS.

[Reading] : Printed in the School of Art, University of Reading, 1960. First edition : limited to 150 copies – this copy not numbered, but marked “Proof” in manuscript. Includes “Mediterranean Suburbs”, “Regent’s Park Terrace”, “Morning in Madrid”, etc.
Medium 8vo (24cm). [4],(32),[4]pp. Original cream wrappers, lettered in black; bruised at one corner; wrappers a little tanned; but a good, sound and clean copy.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 29346 – or simply click on the button

SPENCER, Bernard, 1909-1963 : COLLECTED POEMS.

SPENCER, Bernard, 1909-1963 : COLLECTED POEMS.

London : Alan Ross, 1965. First edition. A definitive edition of Spencer’s work, including all the poems from his two earlier collections as well as ten previously unpublished poems from the Vienna period.
Foolscap 4to (22cm). [vi],96,[ii]pp. Original black cloth, blocked and lettered in gilt; a very good, bright and sound copy in the original dust-jacket – a design principally in turquoise, brown and white – the jacket clean, fresh and unworn.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 28495 – or simply click on the button

“STRUTHER, Jan” – [ANSTRUTHER, Joyce, 1901-1953] : SYCAMORE SQUARE AND OTHER VERSES.

“STRUTHER, Jan” – [ANSTRUTHER, Joyce, 1901-1953] : SYCAMORE SQUARE AND OTHER VERSES.

London : Methuen & Co., (1932). First edition. The author of “Mrs Miniver” with ten poems, including “The Muffin Man”, relating to a quiet and small London square, followed by ten on the London telephone districts, Avenue, Frobisher, Gulliver, Mayfair, Victoria, etc., and a further eight whimsical pieces on contemporary topics. Illustrated throughout with great charm by Ernest H. Shepard.
Demy 8vo (22cm). viii,(64)pp. Illustrations. Original pictorial cloth gilt; lightly rubbed and a touch dulled; endpapers a little tanned; a few spots and minor signs of use, but a very good copy. Contemporary ownership inscription of G. G. D. Stevenson dated Christmas 1932.

£15

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 37341 – or simply click on the button

SYMONS, Julian (Julian Gustave), 1912-1994 : THE SECOND MAN : POEMS.

SYMONS, Julian (Julian Gustave), 1912-1994 : THE SECOND MAN : POEMS.

London : George Routledge & Sons, (1943). First edition. A dedicatory poem to Roy Fuller and thirty-five further poems, including “Clapham Common”, “Hart Crane”, “Ventnor”, etc.
Crown 8vo (20cm) 48pp. Original quarter black cloth, ivory boards, lettered in gilt; a few faint marks and spots, but a very good and bright copy in the original ivory dust-jacket, printed in olive and black – just lightly used and with a small inked calculation on lower panel.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 26051 – or simply click on the button

TABORSKI, Boleslaw, 1927-2010 : FOR THE WITNESSES.

TABORSKI, Boleslaw, 1927-2010 : FOR THE WITNESSES.

London : Poets’ and Painters’ Press, 1978. First edition. A collection of forty-five poems – including poems on T. S. Eliot, Robert Graves and W. H. Auden. A review copy, with the publishers’ slip loosely inserted.
Demy 8vo (22cm). (78),[ii]pp. Original grey wrappers, printed in red and black; slightly bruised, but otherwise very good in the original white dust-jacket, printed in red and black – just lightly used.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 18031 – or simply click on the button

TAMBIMUTTU, M.J. (Meary James Thurairajah), 1915-1983 & DICKINS, Anthony (Anthony Stewart Mackay), 1914-1987 – editors : POETRY [LONDON].

TAMBIMUTTU, M.J. (Meary James Thurairajah), 1915-1983 & DICKINS, Anthony (Anthony Stewart Mackay), 1914-1987 – editors : POETRY [LONDON].

London : Poetry, 1939. The first issue of this legendary magazine, originally called simply “Poetry”, the first series of which ran until 1951. This copy signed next to their contributions by nine of the original contributors – Audrey Beecham, Dorian Cooke, Walter de la Mare, Lawrence Durrell (twice), Clifford Dyment, Philip O’Connor, Herbert Read, Edwin Smith and Stephen Spender (twice). Other contributors to a highly impressive first issue include George Barker, Gavin Ewart, John Gawsworth, J. F. Hendry, Rayner Heppenstall, Louis Macneice, Nicholas Moore, Keidrych Rhys, Tambimuttu himself, Dylan Thomas and Laurence Whistler.
Crown 4to (25cm). [32]pp. Photograph by Edwin Smith. Three wood engravings by Diana Gardner. Original stapled wrappers, with a design in red and black by Hector Whistler; some mild spotting, mainly to wrappers; just a hint of wear and a touch of rusting to staples, but overall a very good copy of a highly evocative survival.

£250

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 38399 – or simply click on the button

TARLING, Alan (Alan James Edward), 1931- – editor : POET. 1. AUTUMN 1972. / POET. 2. SUMMER 1974.

TARLING, Alan (Alan James Edward), 1931- – editor : POET. 1. AUTUMN 1972. / POET. 2. SUMMER 1974.

London : Derek Maggs, 1972-1974. Both the published issues of this short-lived poetry periodical. The two issues contain poems by Frances Bellerby (5), Bruce Bathory Bikales (4), D. J. Enright (5), Dawson Jackson (4), Roger Burford Mason (7), John Mole (5), Jon Silkin (1), Penelope Shuttle (3), R. S. Thomas (2), and Jane Wilson (9) – most with explanatory prefaces by the poets; essays by Edward Lucie-Smith and B. S. Johnson; reviews by Jim Burns, Robert Shaw, etc. Loosely inserted are a single-page signed typed 1974 letter on Poet & Printer notepaper from the editor, Alan Tarling, concerning the demise of the magazine, and four pieces of separately printed related ephemera – one with two poems by Alan Dixon intended for the never-to-be-published third issue. Printed and published by Derek Maggs.
Two issues. Crown 8vo (20cm). 40pp; 28pp. Original stapled wrappers; just a hint of rusting to staples, but otherwise very good indeed.

£40

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 25814 – or simply click on the button

TOMALIN, Ruth, 1919-2012 : DEER’S CRY.

TOMALIN, Ruth, 1919-2012 : DEER’S CRY.

London : Fortune Press, (1952 [i.e.1953]). First edition. A collection of twenty-seven poems, including “The Deer in the Forest”, “Kingfisher”, “Otters”, “Golden Oriole”, etc.
Foolscap 4to (20cm). (40)pp. Original tan cloth-backed orange boards, lettered in gilt; very good in the original grey dust-jacket, lettered in blue – just very lightly marked and used. D’Arch Smith 551.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 18068 – or simply click on the button

WAIN, John (John Barrington), 1925-1994 : POEMS 1949-1979.

WAIN, John (John Barrington), 1925-1994 : POEMS 1949-1979.

London : Macmillan London, (1980). First edition : the uncommon hardback issue. An extensive selection of poems from five earlier collections, together with a number of new poems. “He seems, unusually for a poet of any importance, to continually move from one kind of work to another, always with new insights, and new ways of growing” (Peter Levi)
Demy 8vo (23cm). [viii],182,[ii]pp. Original green boards, lettered in silver; just a hint of spotting to top edge; very faint bruise to heel, but a very good copy in the original dust-jacket – a typographic design in green, red and white – also very good.

£25

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 13190 – or simply click on the button

WALLER, John (Sir John Stanier), 1917-1995 – editor : BOLERO. A MAGAZINE OF POETRY. NO.1.

WALLER, John (Sir John Stanier), 1917-1995 – editor : BOLERO. A MAGAZINE OF POETRY. NO.1.

Oxford : John Waller, 1938. The first of just three published issues of Waller’s pre-war magazine. With poems by Clifford Dyment, Norman Nicholson, John Short, John Stead, Waller himself, etc.
Foolscap 4to (21cm). [20]pp. Original yellow stapled wrappers, lettered and decorated in black; lightly marked; a little bruised and sunned; staples rusted; a serviceable copy.

£15

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 18134 – or simply click on the button

WAUGH, Gilbert (Gilbert Carr), 1913-1987 : ON WHITE HORSE HILL AND OTHER POEMS.

WAUGH, Gilbert (Gilbert Carr), 1913-1987 : ON WHITE HORSE HILL AND OTHER POEMS.

Salisbury : Perdix Press, 1983. First edition : limited to fifty copies signed by both Gilbert Waugh and the publisher, Walter Partridge. This copy marked “out-of-series” and inscribed to fellow publisher, Roger Burford Mason (1943-1998). Nine poems, including “Lament”, “Hamlet”, etc.
Foolscap 4to (22cm). [ii],(20),[ii]pp. Original stone wrappers, lettered and decorated in olive; very slightly bruised; some spotting, but otherwise ve