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Doctorow, E. L : Lives Of The Poets: Six Stories And A Novella

Random House, New York City, NY, 1984

ISBN 0394525302

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 145 pages. The author's debut collection of short stories. Now considered a late-modern classic. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents E. L. Doctorow's "Lives of The Poets". A collection of short stories that is unified and rendered intelligible (from a literary standpoint) by the concluding eponymous piece, which is the only novella E. L. Doctorow ever wrote. Doctorow is a singular phenomenon: A master of the historical novel, who has written a series of books on his beloved New York City ("Ragtime", "World's Fair", "The Waterworks", and "Homer & Langley") as well as a restless and agile technical and formal experimenter, who has written such challenging works as "Loon Lake" and this collection, pushing the boundaries of late-modern fiction and exploring the possibilities of his own art. How does he meld the two opposing ambitions? "Highly-regarded and controversial, Doctorow's work is characterized by serious philosophical probings, a subtle and diverse prose style, and placement of historical figures in unusual, sometimes bizarre, situations and settings. His novels stretch the limits of the literary genres on which he draws. 'Lives of the Poets' presents readers with what they have come to expect from him over the years: A literary surprise, in its form, content, and stylistic intention" (Publisher's blurb). One of the short stories became the basis of the full-length novel, "The Waterworks". "History is the present. That's why every generation writes it anew. But what most people think of as history is its end product, myth. So to be irreverent to myth, to play with it, let in some light and air, to try to combust it back into history, is to risk being seen as someone who distorts truth" (E. L. Doctorow). E. L. Doctorow died on July 21, 2015 at the age of 84, an irreplaceable loss. An absolute "must-have" title for E. L. Doctorow collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by E. L. Doctorow. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a late-modern classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Late in life, E. L. Doctorow seldom did public signings, and when he did, limited the number of books he was willing to sign. As a result, his Limited Editions, while highly collectible, are often more widely available than copies of the First Hardcover Editions, which are signed directly on the title page rather than on a tipped-in page. A scarce signed copy thus. Winner of the very first National Book Critics Circle Award in 1976 for "Ragtime". Winner of the National Book Award in 1986 for "World's Fair". Winner of the PEN/Faulkner and a second National Book Critics Circle Award in 2006 for "The March". One of the greatest American writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER E. L. DOCTOROW TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0394525302.

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