A SAD HEART AT THE SUPERMARKET with a Complete MANUSCRIPT of His Poem "The Sign"
New York: Atheneum, 1962. First Edition. Hardcover. This collection of essays and fables is INSCRIBED on the front pastedown and SIGNED by the poet "For David Posner/from/Randall Jarrell/with all best wishes." On the facing page, the front endpaper, Jarrell has also written out the complete short poem, "The Sign," with one word and a punctuation change from the published version in his 1969 COMPLETE POEMS. It was first published in 1966 as a broadside in about 100 copies for Friends of the Library of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In full: "Having eaten their mackerel,/drunk their milk,/They lie like two strands of/embroidery silk/Asleep in the glider; The child/repeats, 'It's such a pity!'/And paints on a piece of/beaverboard, FREE KITTY." A few spots of foxing to the bulked fore-edge of the text. Near Fine in a Very Good dustwrapper. Item #020873
Price: $3,500.00