Paterson: Books I-V by Williams, William Carlos

New York: New Directions. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. FIRST EDITIONS of all five books of William Carlos Williams's epic masterpiece, one of the great triumphs of twentieth-century American poetry. Each first edition had a very limited print run: Books I-IV, one of only 1000 copies, Book V, one of 3000 copies. "This is the first part of a long poem in four parts--that man in himself is a city, beginning, seeking, achieving and concluding his life in ways which the various aspects of a city may embody--if imaginatively conceived--any city, all the details of which may be made to voice his most intimate convictions. Part One introduces the elemental character of the place. The Second Part will comprise the modern replicas. Three will seek a language to make them vocal, and Four, the river below the falls, will be reminiscent of episodes--all that any one man may achieve in a lifetime" (Williams, introducing Paterson, which will ultimately become five, rather than four books). New York: New Directions, 1946-1958. Tall octavo, original cloth, original dust jackets. A FINE SET with only the slightest wear. Rare in this condition.