My Father's Life. An essay. (SIGNED LIMITED EDITION)

RAYMOND CARVER.

Published by Babcock & Koontz, Derry, New Hampshire and Ridgewood, New Jersey, 1986

About this Item

First edition, limited to 200 numbered copies signed by the author (from a total edition of 240 copies). Slim 8vo. Unpaginated [23]pp sewn into blue Fabriano Roma wrappers with a printed and bordered paper title label to the upper wrapper. Title page wood engraving by Gaylord Schanilec. A touch of discolouration to the margins of the wrappers, and a trace of wear to the yapped upper and lower wrapper edges. A very good copy of this thirteen-page memoir of the author's father, which was originally printed in 'Esquire'. "My dad walked, hitched rides, and rode in empty boxcars when he went from Arkansas to Washington State in 1934, looking for work. I don't know whether he was pursuing a dream when he went to Washington. I doubt it. I don't think he dreamed much. I believe he was simply looking for steady work at decent pay. Steady work was meaningful work. He picked apples for a time and then landed a construction laborer's job on the Grand Coulee Dam. After he'd put aside a little money, he brought a car and drove back to Arkansas to help his folks, my grandparents, move west. He said later that they were about to starve down there, and this wasn't meant as a figure of speech. It was during that short while in Arkansas, in a town called Leola, that my mother met my dad on the sidewalk as he came out of a tavern. 'He was drunk' she said. 'I don't know why I let him talk to me. His eyes were glittery. I wish I'd had a crystal ball'. They'd met once, a year or so before, at a dance. He'd had girlfriends before her, my mother told me. 'Your dad always had a girlfriend, even after we married. He was my first and last. I never had another man. But I didn't miss anything'". Seller Inventory # BC18629

Bibliographic Details

Title: My Father's Life. An essay. (SIGNED LIMITED ...

Publisher: Babcock & Koontz, Derry, New Hampshire and Ridgewood, New Jersey

Publication Date: 1986

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition