Poppa John Hardcover - 1981

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1981. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. A novel about an actor at the end of his life and career. Woiwode is the Poet Laureate of North Dakota and a noted Western writer. First edition (first printing). A very good copy in a very good dust jacket; a bit foxed inside; jacket spine a touch faded. Inscribed by the author at length, 'For Chuck and Susie, with admiration and gratitude; not *the* statement on actors and acting (somehow in here we need 'The Short King'), but part of the story toward that; and another. Love, Larry. 11/16/81.' The recipients of this book were Charles and Susan Shattuck. Charles as Woiwode's teacher in college at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne, and a noted Shakespearean scholar. Woiwode writes about Shattuck extensively in his book, What I Think I Did. The 'short king' may be a Shakespearean reference. A significant literary association. His real name is not "Poppa John." His life has been built upon a variety of disguises. Close to seventy, wise, crotchety, troubled, outspoken, he is one of those elusive individuals whose very shifts and turnings serve to make him more himself and entirely unique. Compressed, music-like, lit with humor, "Poppa John "is a small book of awesome content and dimension.