Straight Hearts' Delight. Love Poems and Selected Letters 1947-1980
San Francisco: Gay Sunshine Press, 1980. 1st Edition. Octavo, publisher's stiff illustrated paper wraps.
First edition of Beat poets and longtime partners Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky’s poetry and correspondence, edited by LGBTQ publishing pioneer Winston Leyland. Both sons of Russian immigrants who suffered at the hands of alcoholic fathers, Ginsberg and Orlovsky were immediately drawn to each other. Promoting themselves as a contemporary Rimbaud and Verlaine, they went on to live and travel together for decades, until Ginsberg’s death in 1997. One of the most significant literary figures to come out of the post-Stonewall literary scene, Leyland is best known as the founder of Gay Sunshine Press, which originated as a literary journal featuring work by gay-identifying writers. Illustrated with black-and-white photos and drawings; with an index. Issued simultaneously in hardcover and paperback (as here). Some rubbing and edgewear. Very good. Item #12730
$50.00