Description

“FAULKNER’S FARWELL TO POETRY”: SIGNED LIMITED FIRST EDITION OF A GREEN BOUGH, ONE OF ONLY 360 COPIES SIGNED BY FAULKNER

FAULKNER, William. A Green Bough. New York: Harrison Smith and Robert Haas, 1933. Octavo, original tan cloth, mounted cover illustrations, uncut and unopened. Housed in a custom full leather clamshell box.

Signed limited first edition of Faulkner’s second and last book of poetry, number 64 of 360 copies signed by him, of which only 350 copies were for sale, with two mounted cover illustrations and mounted frontispiece by Lynd Ward.

“A Green Bough came out at the end of April [1933] without much fanfare. It was published as a favor to Faulkner by Hal Smith, with illustrations by Lynd Ward. The volume contained 44 poems, most of which were written very early in Faulkner’s career and reflect his close reading of Eliot, Housman, Swinburne and Keats. One can hardly imagine that the author of these intensely literary poems is the same man who wrote Sanctuary or Light in August. This was Faulkner’s farewell to poetry, and, as such, it warrants a glance. Poetry was the schoolhouse of Faulkner’s fiction? A Green Bough remains a fairly accomplished collection that demonstrates a firm grasp on the craft of poetry” (Parini, 177). Twenty-nine of the 44 poems in this collection were previously unpublished and nearly all were revised prior to the publication of this work. No slipcase or dust jacket was issued with this signed limited edition. Brodsky 147. Peterson A15.1a.

Mild offsetting to front endpapers. Light toning to spine. An about-fine copy.