Bending the Bow (First Edition Thus (New Directions Paperback NDP255))

First edition thus. New Directions Paperback NDP255. Published in 1968. A major collection by Robert Duncan, one of the principal poets associated with the Black Mountain movement and the San Francisco Renaissance. Includes the important sequences "Passages" and "The Structure of Rime" and is widely regarded as one of Duncan's key works. Original pictorial card wrappers. Covers show moderate rubbing, scuffing and general shelf wear, with edge wear to extremities and rubbing along the spine. Small mark to front cover. Rear cover lightly toned. Partial splitting to the front inner hinge/endpaper with separation of the paper along the gutter and associated browning; however, the text block remains firmly bound and secure. Pages clean and complete. No ownership inscriptions noted. A solid and presentable early New Directions edition of an important post-war American poetry collection.