Published in March 1970 by Capra Press, Fire Station holds a unique place in the bibliography of Charles Bukowski. Produced in both hardcover and softcover editions “by special arrangement with the Black Sparrow Press”, it can be considered the last of the early Bukowski chapbooks.
Fire Station’s roots are directly tied to The Days Run Away Like Horses Over the Hills, the landmark collection of Bukowski poems published by John Martin and Black Sparrow Press in December 1969. Martin hired Sanford Dorbin to select the poems that appeared in The Days Run Away, all of which previously appeared in small press publications from the late 1950s through the late 1960s. With the help of Bukowski, Dorbin played the pivotal role of tracking down these magazines and collecting the poems for publication.
When the Days Run Away was being finalized, Martin needed to reduce the number of pages to keep the costs in line with its selling price. There was disagreement between Dorbin and Martin on which poems to cut from the book, but in the end Fire Station and eight other poems were cut. These nine poems would go on to be published in Fire Station.
The first edition of Fire Station was limited to 100 hardcover copies and 1,000 soft covers. This copy is one of the 100 hardcover first editions. Also included is the incredibly rare and fragile tissue paper book jacket, as well as an unfolded copy of the uncommon prospectus.
Books with black covers typically have obvious flaws with the white paper underneath revealing nicks. This copy has no visible nicks. There is a slight bit of wear to the covers, but hardly noticeable. The book’s one flaw is a small one-inch tear on the front cover spine, but it’s also not very noticeable.
While present, the red tissue book jacket has seen better days. There is a large tear to the front of the book jacket and small creases and tears along the edges. I know of only one dealer who has another copy with the jacket currently for sale.
The prospectus has one very tiny bump on the bottom right but is otherwise Fine.
Fire Station includes the following poems:
- The Paper On The Floor - pg. 9 - circa 1959
- 2 Flies - pg. 12 - circa 1963
- Through The Streets Of Anywhere - pg. 15 - circa 1964
- Fire Station (For Jane, With Love) - pg. 17 - circa 1967
- An Argument Over Marshall Foch - pg. 23 - circa 1961
- 40 Cigarettes - pg. 25 - circa 1965
- A Killer Gets Ready - pg. 27 - circa 1966
- I Love You - pg. 29 - circa 1966
- A Little Atomic Bomb - pg. 30 - circa 1966
File Box 2
