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Note: this book was previously owned by Timothy d'Arch Smith (whose small, round bookplate is present to the inside front cover) and was signed and inscribed to Mr. Smith by poet and author Arch Alfred McKillen. Offered is a signed and inscribed first edition, first (and only) printing of "The Death of the Scharnhorst and other poems" by Arch Alfred McKillen and published in 1952 by Vantage Press, Inc. out of New York City. A hardcover containing 62 pages of verse with dust jacket, the title is listed in Ian Young's magnificent bibliography "The Homosexual in Literature" (1981) as having primary gay content (Young 2619*). Containing 62 poems, from the front flap, reading in short part: "War is not the only subject of Mr. McKillen's poems. He writes of love; and indignation prompts him to write strongly against racial prejudice. Too often a reader's enjoyment of poetry is marred by obscurity of meaning, but the clarity of thought and euphony of expression of the author, in this volume, leave no doubt in the reader's mind of his intentions." Poems include, with partial verse, "Apollo" ("Beautiful pagan, possess me! / Over thy body my fingers race / Hot on thy cheeks are my kisses / Naked with thee in a lovers' embrace"); "Echo Canyon" ("And now I stretch beside him / Where he lies upon the ground / And in all this lovely wilderness / We two alone are found"); "Fragment" ("He wandered through the darkened streets of night - Then down familiar avenues he strolled / And met, as he was sure to meet them there / The lads who knew these lanes where men were bold"); "Lonely Heart" ("Walking the streets, nights that are cold / Men who are wretched, men who are bold / Rooms in the shadows. Love me tonight / Love me and leave me before it grows bright"); "The Bugles Called" (reading in full: "We lay together, he and I / Upon a little hill / Beneath a tree that sheltered us / As trees so often will / I touched his hand and felt him stir / Expectancy of love! / And then my lips poured out my heart / The things I told him of / But when his heart began to speak / The bugles called to war / And he arose and left me there / I never saw him more"); several others. The poem "The Litany of Pearl Harbor" was published in the December 7, 1942 edition of the Chicago Sun. Signed and inscribed by the poet to the first inside free blank page, with drawing of a ship: "To Timothy d'Arch Smith - I climbed to the top of a mast one day - And I looked at the World and the Far-away, - And I've never come down from that Mast! Arch Alfred McKillen." With Mr. Smith's small, round 1-15/16" bookplate ("E LIBRIS T C D'A S" as printed). Arch Alfred McKillen (1914-1984) enlisted in the United States Navy in 1939 and was stationed aboard the U.S.S. Tennessee at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked. After the war he became a bookseller. This volume of poetry was reviewed in the March 1956 issue of ONE: The Homosexual Magazine but has largely fallen into obscurity. The outer covers show very light sunning along upper and lower edges, overall Near Fine; the dust jacket shows light corner wear, overall Very Good-Plus. A splendid copy.
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