The Floating Bear: a newsletter. Numbers 1-37, 1961-1969. SIGNED copy with SUPPLEMENT: The Intrepid-Bear issue: Intrepid #20/Floating Bear #38. 1971. Introduction and notes adapted from interviews with Diane di Prima
La Jolla, California: Laurence McGilvery, 1973. SIGNED by Diane di Prima. Black library buckram. xviii + [2] + 578 pp. + 6 supplementary sheets in 4 issues. 27.2 x 20.7 cm. PLUS supplement: cover, errata sheet & 130 pp. First-class, oversewn library binding. ISBN 0-910938-29-6. LC No. 72-79790. **From the introduction: "Bear Number One, what I remember about it. We printed 250 copies. Our mailing list was just two pieces of paper with names scribbled on them, 117 names… painters, poets, dancers…. The intention was to publish only original material…. [T]he last time I saw Charles Olson in Gloucester, one of the things he talked about was how valuable the Bear had been to him in its early years…. [H]is work, his thoughts, would be in the hands of a few hundred writers within two or three weeks. It was like writing a letter to a bunch of friends." The Floating Bear was mimeographed and published mostly in New York City; also Topanga, California; Kerhonkson, New York; and Brooklyn. It was supported by the editors and by contributions, and it never was sold. A list of only the most frequent and well-known contributors includes Frank O'Hara, Allen Ginsberg, Charles Olson, Ed Dorn, Michael McClure, Robert Creeley, Joel Oppenheimer, William Burroughs, Philip Whalen, John Wieners, Robert Duncan, A.B. Spellman, and the editors. The fugitive nature of The Floating Bear and the very small editions of some issues make complete, original sets virtually unobtainable. Full table of contents and detailed author and title index. **Supplement: In 1971 Diane di Prima guest-edited a thick issue (130 pp.) of Allen De Loach's Intrepid, published in Buffalo. It includes material received too late to appear in issue 37 of the Floating Bear. Among the many contriubtors are Paul Blackburn, Charles Olson, Anselm Hollo, Robert Kelly, and LaMonte Young. This issue is not indexed, and the very stiff, green front cover of the original has been replaced with text paper of a similar color and bearing the same printed copy. This version has been sold out for years, but this virtually as-new copy has miraculously made a return voyage. It is a first binding in black buckram. It is one of four copies of any edition with a half-title signed by Diane di Prima and inserted before the original half-title. **Free domestic shipping with direct order. Item #72501.1
Price: $550.00