The Collection
Rare Books
The Rare Book Collection consists of items chosen for inclusion because of their age, rarity, aura and physical beauty. Some of the works located in the new Rare Book Room date back to the beginning of the 20th century, including a 1900 edition of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. Some of the limited, rare edition works include books published by distinguished small presses, such as Ezra Pound’s The Pisan Cantos, by New Directions in 1948, Allen Ginsberg’s Howl, by City Lights Books in 1956 and Denise Levertov’s Embroideries by Black Sparrow Press in 1969. Many are books which have garnered an “aura” and are well known as central or significant in the poetry tradition, such as Ezra Pound’s, Drafts & Fragments of Cantos CX-CXV11, 1969; Richard Wilbur’s, Poems 1943-1956, Faber & Faber, 1957 – his first collected works; and Marianne Moore’s, Collected Poems, Faber & Faber,1951. Other books serve as examples of beautiful book making and are unusual because of their size, shape or material composition. These works are often artist-made books or collaborative projects between writers, artists and publishers. Some of our holdings include: Alberto Rios, Inside Chance, a sculptural book by Picnic Press; Kenneth Patchen’s, When We Were Here Together by New Directions, with a cover hand painted by the author, (1 of 75 copies); Lyn Hejinian/Ray Di Palma’s Chartings by Chax Press (1 of 80 copies) and Dean Young’s hand printed Original Monkey by Iowa City Emperean Press.