Floating Bear: A Newsletter. Issue #9
New York: Diane di Prima, 1961. 1st Edition. Quarto, publisher’s stapled sheets.
Issue number 9 of pioneering American poet Diane di Prima’s mimeographed literary newsletter. The most prominent female poet among the Beat coterie, di Prima ascended the countercultural literary movement with an enduring reputation as a writer and editor. Established in 1961, Floating Bear quickly became a hub for experimental and avant-garde writing by the post-Beat, New York School, and Black Mountain poets, including entries by Charles Olson, William Burroughs, Denise Levertov, Bill Berkson, Allen GInsberg, Robert Creeley, and Frank O’Hara. Circulated throughout the US, it was informally produced, often in communal settings where contributors helped type, staple, and mail issues. Floating Bear ran until 1971, producing a total of 38 issues over its decade-long run. This influential issue includes William Burroughs' "Roosevelt After the Inauguration,” which ultimately resulted in the arrest of di Prima and her early co-editor LeRoi Jones for distributing obscene material (they were held briefly but not indicted). Burroughs originally wrote the brief satire in 1953, which imagines FDR and his cabinet indulging in grotesque sexual depravity. His use of explicit language (“It'll make the cocksuckers glad to mutate!”) drew the attention of postal authorities and resulted in the seizure and destruction of copies. This issue also includes the first appearance of LeRoi Jones' "The System of Dante's Hell/The Eighth Ditch”, as well as a Philip Whalen piece. Toning and wear to wraps, with stains to a few pages that don’t affect the text. A good copy of a fragile and uncommon piece of ephemera. Item #13296
$450.00