The Opening of the Field

Duncan Robert

Published by Grove Press, New York, 1960

About this Item

Extremely scarce, signed, first edition copy of what is arguably Duncan's most important publication. Duncan was a key figure among poets associated with Black Mountain College, Modern American Poetry and the San Francisco Renaissance. An important voice in pre-Stonewall gay culture, in 1944, he published "The Homosexual in Society", an unprecedented essay in which he compared the plight of homosexuals with that of Black Americans and Jews. Appearing a decade before the formation of the first gay rights organization, the Mattachine Society, Duncan's essay made him the first prominent American to reveal his homosexuality. This copy has a few spots of foxing on the cover, whose corners are gently bumped. There is some mild age tanning on the front and rear endpapers, and on the edges of the text block. The interior pages are otherwise clean. Duncan's signature is boldly written along the top of the title page. From the collection of publisher and poet, Kirby Congdon, who was aligned with leading figures of the San Francisco Renaissance, Black Mountain College and the Beats, and was central to the dissemination of their work, through his small presses; Interim Books, Cycle Press, and Crank Books. His legendary underground series Magazine, which ran to six issues, also elevated the work of his peers, and contains the first iterations of several Charles Bukowski, Jack Micheline and Gregory Corso poems. A prodigious and widely published poet, Congdon was at the core of the literary and mimeograph revolutions of the 60s and 70s. He corresponded regularly with hundreds of writers in the United States, Europe and South America, forming a vast network of contemporaries. His archive of correspondence, including copies of the letters he sent, provides a deep and unique insight into the concerns, ambitions, frustrations and activities of those who ushered a new zeitgeist and a pivotal cultural transformation in the United States. This copy of Duncan's book comes with a detailed file card, which Congdon kept for every book in his library.

Seller Inventory # 15

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Opening of the Field
• Publisher: Grove Press, New York
• Publication Date: 1960
• Language: English
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)