Paterson (Books 1, 2 & 3) [*SIGNED*]

[Norfolk CT]: New Directions. Very Good in Very Good dj. [1950]. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. [a good sound copy, with some shelfwear to the lower edges of the paper-covered boards, and a modest bump to the upper rear corner; the jacket has suffered some very shallow paper loss at and surrounding the top of the spine, and is edgeworn along the spine-folds, with small bit of additional paper loss at the base of the spine and the lower corners; all in all still quite presentable]. (The New Classics Series) Series INSCRIBED and SIGNED by the author/poet on the front endpaper: "Norman Lloyd - / - a man with some / good ideas. Here's / hoping / William Carlos Williams / 11/6/50." (It's to be noted that the inscription is written in WCW's flowing, "pre-stroke" hand, executed as it was just a year or so prior to a debilitating stroke which left him partially paralyzed and made his later signatures exceedingly shaky.) As each new installment of Williams's epic poem about the eponymous New Jersey city was published individually, New Directions would also issue a separate volume printing the entire work; the next (Book 4) would appear in 1951, and the final section in 1958. This 1950 printing -- which seems to be remarkably scarce -- appeared at a particularly auspicious time, as Williams had earlier in the year won the National Book Award for Poetry. It was the first time the prize had been presented in that category, and it occasioned some modest bewilderment in the nation's press, where commentary ran rife about the "obscurity" of both the awardee and his work. One typical comment called the poem "a paean of praise for a New Jersey town undistinguished except for the romance the poet was able to read into it. [It's] interesting, sometimes exciting -- but hardly great by almost any standard of measurement." Another wise-ass critic felt obliged to point out that Williams's "prize-winning poems, like all his others, are 'modernistic' and difficult to understand for most of the general public," adding that he "is relatively unknown outside of academic circles." The best comment of all, though, came from Williams himself, who, when chatting with a reporter at the awards dinner, offered this assessment: "I don't see that this is going to do anything for me." Williams's connection with the book's inscribee, actor-director Norman Lloyd, is unknown, although his "here's hoping" comment seems to imply that the two might have discussed some sort of possible collaboration -- perhaps scuttled by the poet's 1951 stroke? Signed by Author .