Tike and Five Stories
Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1969. 1st Edition. Octavo, publisher’s black cloth over blue paper-covered boards, spine gilt, upper board blindstamped, light blue endpapers, original photo-illustrated dust jacket.
"I am happy not to be young anymore" (from Tike). First edition of queer American author Jonathan Strong’s first book, with two signed notes from the author. Published while he was still a senior at Harvard, the collection comprises his first novel Tike and five short stories, including his best known, "Supperburger," originally published in the Partisan Review, and considered a classic of gay fiction. The collection won the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Rosenthal Award in 1970 and was reissued in 1999 as The Haunts of His Youth. Laid in is an envelope with two notes from Strong to a reader, one typed and signed, the other handwritten, each from the year of publication, thanking him for his enthusiastic response: "The scary thing about writing seems to be be the question of can you keep it up. You never 'are' a writer, you have to keep being one." Light toning to board edges; unclipped dust jacket with some rubbing, edgewear and light dampstaining to verso. Very good. Item #6681
$75.00