WRECKAGE: THE LIMITED EDITION - Scarce Pristine Copy of The Limited "Blue Cloth Boards" Edition: Signed by Ha Jin - SIGNED ON THE TITLE PAGE

Jin, Ha

ISBN 10: 1882413989 / ISBN 13: 9781882413980

Published by New York City, NY: Hanging Loose Press, 2001, 2001

About this Item

1st Printing. Signed. 111 pages. Published in 2001. The author's third collection of poems. One of the most finest poetic achievements of our time. The collection was published in three editions simultaneously. So all of them are true First Editions: The Limited Edition of 100 numbered and signed copies (in red cloth boards), the Limited Edition of 400 copies (in blue cloth boards, un-numbered and un-signed), and the Softcover Trade Edition. All three editions are now scarce. Presents Ha Jin's "Wreckage". Poetry-as-remembrance. "Numerous rocks of Chinese history are overturned in the star novelist's third collection, usually revealing darkness and decay. The book begins with poems about Yu The Great who, according to legend, devised a drainage system when the Yellow River flooded its banks around the 20th century BC, wreaking havoc on the land and its people. Even when 'caged in high dikes', its threat is not forgotten: 'Who can keep the river up/in the clouds forever? '. The notion that disaster is always just around the corner pervades the collection though its components read less like poems than terse mini-fables stitched loosely together to form a tapestry of sacrifice and suffering. Violence comes from without and within, in the form of attacks by so-called barbarians as well as the capriciousness and brutality of emperors and bureaucrats. The heinous treatment of women is a recurrent theme, from a concubine mutilated and thrown into an outhouse pit ('Human Pig') to a gruesome account of foot binding ('A Young Girl's Lament'), in which it is observed how 'the toes curl in like dead caterpillars. /Who would think they belong to a human being? ' " (Publishers Weekly). An absolute "must-have" title for Ha Jin collectors. This is a copy of the Limited "Blue Cloth Boards" Edition. It is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by Ha Jin. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. Ha Jin did NOT sign any copies of this Limited Edition through the publisher. His signature was obtained in person. Laid-in is a pristine copy of the Souvenir Material of the event during which his signature was obtained. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the Limited Edition still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce signed copy thus. Winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award for "Ocean of Words". Winner of the Flannery O'Connor Award For Short Fiction for "Under the Red Flag". Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and the National Book Award in 1999 for "Waiting". One of the finest writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER HA JIN TITLES IN OUR CATALOG) ISBN 1882413989. Seller Inventory # 12657

Bibliographic Details

Title: WRECKAGE: THE LIMITED EDITION - Scarce ...

Publisher: New York City, NY: Hanging Loose Press, 2001

Publication Date: 2001

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: As New

Dust Jacket Condition: None, As Issued

Signed: Signed by Author

Edition: 1st Edition.

About this title

Synopsis:

Poetry. Asian American Studies. New poems by the author of Waiting, winner of the National Book Award. Ha Jin's writing has been called luminous and eloquent by The New York Times Book Review, extraordinary by the Chicago Sun-Times and achingly beautiful by the Los Angeles Times. Asianweek calls him a master of lyric.

From Publishers Weekly:

Numerous rocks of Chinese history are overturned in the star novelist's third collection, usually revealing darkness and decay. The book begins with poems about Yu the Great, who, according to legend, devised a drainage system when the Yellow River flooded its banks around the 20th century B.C., wreaking havoc on the land and its people. Even when "caged in high dikes," its threat is not forgotten: "Who can keep the river up/ in the clouds forever?" The notion that disaster is always just around the corner pervades the collection, though its components read less like poems than terse mini-fables stitched loosely together to form a tapestry of sacrifice and suffering. Violence comes from without and within, in the form of attacks by so-called barbarians as well as the capriciousness and brutality of emperors and bureaucrats: "Lord of Heaven, how can you govern/ the earth like a fool/ and let officials multiply/ more than laborers and taxpayers?" The heinous treatment of women is a recurrent theme from a concubine mutilated and thrown into an outhouse pit ("Human Pig") to a gruesome account of foot binding ("A Young Girl's Lament"), in which it is observed how "the toes curl in like dead caterpillars./ Who would think they belong to a human being?" Cannibalism during drought or wartime is mentioned frequently "Salvation" describes "human flesh/ served in restaurants under/ the name Two-Legged Lamb." Dealing with such charged material forces the poet to flatten his affect. If the writing occasionally borders on the banal, it seems consciously intended to reflect the banality of evil. (June)Forecast: A former People's Army soldier, Ha Jin eventually landed in the U.S. for an English Ph.D., and remained after the Tiananmen massacre. Eight books later, Waiting received critical raves and went on to win the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award. This collection should attract readers of his fiction and fans of his poetry alike.

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