Earth #1 -- Two Early Charles Bukowski Poems (1965)

Published in 1965, Earth #1 featured two Bukowski poems:

Freedom
Rimbaud Be Damned: I Have Withstood 99,000 Seasons In Hell And I Still Look Down Into This Glass Wondering, Wondering

Freedom first appeared in Ole No. 1 (1964) and would later be collected in The Days Run Away Like Wild Horses Over The Hills (1969)

After Bukowski’s death, the great title “Rimbaud Be Damned:
“I Have Withstood 99,000 Seasons In Hell And I Still Look Down Into This Glass Wondering, Wondering”

Would be reduce to “Rimbaud Be Damned” when it was collected in The People Look Like Flowers At Last (2007).

Earth was published by Bukowski’s close friend Steve Richmond. Bukowski wrote the intro to Richmond’s book Hitler Painted Roses and the two collaborated on several other projects, including an early recording of both poets that was sold at Richmond's famous shop, Earth Books & Gallery, in Santa Monica, California. Richmond got his start in poetry when eight of his poems were published by Wormwood Review, a publication that Bukowski would contribute to his entire career. A fan of Japanese gagaku music, Richmond referred to his poetic form as gagaku and he reportedly wrote 8,000 - 9,000 gagaku poems during his lifetime.

This copy is in Near Fine condition with some scratches and edge wear to the black front cover and some light foxing and a bump to the white rear cover.

Box 17