Alfred Levinson : Cauldron 1948 [ Signed , Decker Press , Political Poetry ]
$250
In stock
Description
Signed copy of the rare first book of radical poetry by Alfred Levinson , Cauldron , published by Decker Press in 1948
Levinson, Alfred. Cauldron. Press of James A Decker : Prairie City, Illinois. 1948. First edition.
A scarce and warmly inscribed first edition copy of Alfred Levinson ‘s first book of poetry, Cauldron , published by the Decker Press in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Levinson was a Russo-American poet active in the communist leaning Midwestern labor movement of the immediate post-War period while also working as a professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Cauldron was not warmly received upon release, as in this characteristic contemporary review by Arkham House founder August Derleth, and Alfred Levinson would not publish poetry again for another 20 years until the release of Paris, Lost and Found in 1968.
Although criticized at the time for its derivative worker’s protest poems, time has been kind to the contents of the collection which include the War inspired “Song for a Fascist” and “Song for a Partisan”, explicit references to the horrors of the Holocaust, and extensive meditations on slavery and the lynchings of African Americans.
A life-long academic in Wisconsin and New York, in addition to his poetry, Levinson gained a reputation as “the eighth Python” for his collaborations with members of the comedy troupe Monty Python including playing the voice of God in The Life Of Brian.
The Press of James A Decker or simply Decker Press was owned and operated by James A Decker of Prairie City, Illinois, rising to national attention in the 1930s and 40s publishing authors like Derleth, William Everson (Brother Antonius), and Edgar Lee Masters. Never financially solvent, in 1947 James Decker was forced to sell the company and its press, working for a series of new owners ending with Ervin Tax. James Decker left town in 1949 after admitting (under pressure) to embezzling money from the sale, during which time Tax began an affair with Mrs. Dorothy Decker. Although the couple and the new business arrangement were briefly successful, conditions deteriorated, ending in Dorothy Decker killing Tax and then herself in a May 1950 murder-suicide.
11 Copies in OCLC.
8vo, 92pp, red cloth boards with title and author in silver on front board and spine. Edges and corners worn, some sunning to top spine. Bookblock, pastedowns and endpapers toned. Pen inscription from author on first free endpaper, partially damaged by remnants of sticker removal. Pages clean. Good condition.
If you liked this book, you might also enjoy this unique pirated copy of Bill Butler’s In Progress created for and presented to the poet in 1969.
