Ekstasis.

charming first edition of Beat poetry collection

This charming copy is a first edition of perhaps Philip Lamantia's most significant poetry collection, Ekstasis, composed of poems written between 1948 and 1958. It is a beautifully designed and printed limited edition, handset and printed on antique paper. The poems themselves are visual and spacial, playing with the possibilities of what print can do with poetry.

Lamantia is known for his surrealist and subversive poetry that inspired Allen Ginsberg and other Beat poets. He met André Breton and Max Ernst at a young age, publishing his first poetry book before turning 20, and, in the 50s, was a member of a jazz and poetry group with Jack Kerouac, Howard Hart, and David Antrim. The final poem of the collection, 'Binoculars', mentions Ginsberg, Kerouac, and Hart by name, as well as Gregory Corso, Micheal McClure, and Gary Snyder, figures associated with the Beat generation and the San Francisco Renaissance.

Its cover design and typography were designed by Robert LaVigne, known for his portraits of many Beat and San Franciscan poets, as well as his typography and book designs as in the cover for the 1971 special fine press edition of Ginsberg's 'Howl'. LaVigne also was an inspiration for characters in two of Kerouac's novels.

Auerhahn Press ran from 1959 to 1965, publishing many key San Franciscan poets of the time. Dave Haselwood, its founder, wrote in 1960, 'the first & final consideration in printing poetry is the poetry itself...the publisher is just a midwife during the final operation.'

First edition, one of 950 copies; 8vo (17.5 x 14 cm); orange device on title page, handset type on 'Warren's antique finish paper', clean interior; cream wrappers with french flaps lettered in orange with device on lower cover (some rubbing and toning, especially on spine); [45]pp.