Huncke's Journal. Drawings by Erin Matson
New York: The Poets Press, 1965. 1st Edition. Quarto, publisher's stapled blue textured-paper wraps lettered in black.
First edition of Ur-Beat writer Herbert Huncke’s first book, published by Diane di Prima’s Poets Press. Huncke is credited with coining the term "Beat" and appeared as a character in novels by Burroughs, Ginsberg, and Kerouac (though he was not considered a leading figure of the movement until his memoir Guilty of Everything was reissued in 1990). This collection features prose poems, musings, memories, and sketches of the amphetamine-fueled downtown scene, dating from the late 1940s to the mid-60s, including a story about underground writer and publisher Irving Rosenthal ("Irving, In Part") who helped Huncke organize the volume. In operation from '65 to '69, Poets Press issued works by notable 20th-century poets including Ginsberg, Robert Creeley, and Frank O'Hara, while helping to establish the careers of emerging writers such as Audre Lorde and A.B. Spellman. Illustrated in black-and-white by Erin Black Matson, then the wife of Beat poet Clive Matson, who considered Huncke his "second father." First issue, without brief intro by Ginsberg. Moderate rubbing to spine, minor edgewear to wraps. Very good. Item #13253
$225.00