Smoking Flax [signed]

SMOKING FLAX, poems by Clara Jones, hardcover, probable first edition, 1969. BOOK CONDITION: very good. The text block is in fine condition, with no tears, dogears, or marks. The poet has inscribed “To Lyda with love” and “December 1969” on the first free endpaper. There is no bookplate or signature of a prior owner. Not a library book or remainder. The blue and gold boards are in good condition (some shelf wear). 8 ¾ x 5 ¾, 43 pages, 8 ounces XX [From the publisher’s introduction] It was a delightful opportunity that came our way to publish this little book. The contents reveal a depth of imaginative feeling, best expressed in the poetic literary form, something that is becoming a lost art in this modern scientific age. The author's first experience in the writing field was as contributing editor to the Kilowatt Hour, house organ of the Texas Power & Light Company. Her writing consists of travelogues covering many trips she has taken, written primarily for her family and friends and to document her travel experiences for her own record. She also wrote a hundred or more short biographical sketches of former members of her church and a history of the congregation. She has written numerous church programs for special events, including a dramatization based on her poem The Unholy Three. In addition, she compiled a full length biography of one member of her family, plus numerous magazine and newspaper articles. For many years she has contributed original poems for her own Christmas cards. This book is her first formal publication. Miss Clara Jones, the author, is a native of Texas and has had a varied business career. Not content to be idle after her retirement following a long association with a Ford dealership at Taylor, Texas, and having been a member of the Christian Church since childhood, she felt that time would be well spent associated with the Disciples of Christ Historical Society, Nashville, Tennessee, where she is employed at this time. Her work with this central, international library of the Christian Church is of inestimable value.…