1.
There are a few items that I was not able to put on my Christmas list this year, but just in case there is a private backer out there that wants to fund a future film project of mine on the topic of Whitman, I am putting these items down.
Get them while they last... They are in limited supply and very rare:
The first item is "slightly" expensive and extremely rare.
The price is $3,400.00. But the shipping is only $3.99. I will let the below description do the talking for this beauty.
The Good Gray Poet: A Vindication
O'Connor, William Douglas
Bookseller: Old Book Shop of Bordentown (Bordentown, NJ, U.S.A.)
Bookseller Rating: 4-star rating
Quantity Available: 1
Book Description: Bunce & Huntington, NY, 1866. Wrappers. First edition. Original printed wrappers, 46 pps. plus rear blank; publisher's list recto and verso of rear wrap. Author Carolyn Wells' copy with her bookplate affixed to the verso of the front wrap. Light crease down the center of the front wrap gradually dissipating over the first few pages; very light soiling to the wrappers and a small stain lower portion of the front wrap. An exceedingly scarce Whitman piece, no copies of which have appeared at auction in over 20 years. In custom chemise and slipcase in navy-blue half leather over blue cloth; some scuffing to the raised spine hubs and foot of spine, some shelf wear lower edges of the cloth. This exceptionally laudatory pamphlet was published as the result of the incident which resulted in Whitman's dismissal from his clerkship at the Indian Bureau of the Department of the Interior. Whitman kept a working copy of the third edition of "Leaves of Grass", in which he made revisions, in his desk at the Department (the so-called "Blue Book" copy). It was found and given to the Secretary of the Interior who, shocked at its sexual references, dismissed Whitman. An influential friend of the poet intervened, however, and he was given a clerkship in the Attorney General's office.
Next on the list is a slightly less expensive item. It's another book. I have read much of the Rutgers Library copy, which is a second printing from the 1970's. I used the book quite a bit for my Whitman article. I like the book very much and would love to own a first edition. There are a few copies available ranging in condition and price, from $22.50 to $75.00. A steal!
Walt Whitman of the New York Aurora: Editor at Twenty-Two: A Collection of Recently Discovered Writings
Whitman, Walt; Joseph Jay Rubin & Charles H. Brown (eds.)
Bookseller: Second Story Books, ABAA (Rockville, MD, U.S.A.)
Bookseller Rating: 4-star rating
Quantity Available: 1
Book Description: Bald Eagle Press, State College, PA, 1950. 1st ed. VG-/-- without dustjacket. viii, [iv], 147, [1] pp. A collection, not exhaustive but extensive (the whole body consists of 180+ items - just under half are included here), of some of Whitman's earliest professional writing, produced while employed at the New York Aurora, a short-lived daily paper founded in 1842. Binding is a trifle soiled and shows some edgewear, notably at the head & tail of the spine where there are a few very small splits (none more than ¼" or so). The endpapers are somewhat tanned from the binding adhesive, with a presentation note in ink & another former owner's name in pencil on the front flyleaf. Internally, this copy is quite clean & fresh. Aside from a small spot on the title page no marking or soiling of the book proper is noted. The first collection of one of the last major discoveries of material by Whitman, available in a far more convenient form than the definitive edition and at a far lower price.
2.
I have finally got around to making some updates to robertemmons.com. I updated my biography, and have embedded some video clips that have been on vimeo for a while but I have not placed on my website yet.
I was prompted by the lead artist from last night's Whitman meeting. She is a theater and performance artist. She had asked to see some of my work and I wanted to be able to show some of my more non-narrative pieces as well as more theater installations I have done. Tomorrow I will add two more clips to vimeo that I will then embed into my website. I hope to add The Mad Woman of Chaillot and A Midsummer Night's Dream. And maybe even The Passenger List, if I can find a clip!
3.
Lastly, as I was sifting through hard drives for video clips, I came upon a blast from the past. It's a television appearance I did about three years ago for Comcast's Your Morning show. I CANNOT believe how much younger I look. So much less white hair. And Also, I will admit, there was liberal amounts of make-up added by their make-up artist. I will say no more and let the clip speak for itself:
YARDSALE! got lots of press. The attention was a lot of fun! I was also interviewed on the NPR affiliate WHYY in Philadelphia For Morning Edition with host Brenda Joret.
Listen to me wax ecstatic about yard sales:
Emmons on Morning Edition
Here is a photo simulation of what I must have looked like in my interview. (Actual photo from a back cover article done on my efforts with podcasting in the classroom for Rutgers Magazine some years back when podcasting first hit the scene!)
Finally, YARDSALE! was also reviewed by my friend and film critic Matt Sorrento for Filmthreat.com.
---
No comments:
Post a Comment