AUTOGRAPH POEM penned by Ginsberg with TLS Request.
USA: 1969-70.
First Edition. One sheet of stationery with writing on the recto. A typed letter signed from a fan (Jan. 21, 1970) to Allen Ginsberg, politely requesting an autograph or poem for her collection. Addressed to Ginsberg care of City Lights, San Francisco.
On the verso, Ginsberg has responded directly with an autograph poem, signed and dated by him:
“Thou Emily’s iron fence / Rain eaten marble the slab, / pink petals nod in wet grass — / a black fly washed his hands / crouched on a broken leaf.”
Dated July 29, ’69, Amherst, and signed Allen Ginsberg in his hand.
The typed letter is clearly dated Jan. 21, 1970.
Ginsberg’s autograph poem is signed “July 29, ’69, Amherst”.
[This means the poem itself predates the request. Ginsberg didn’t compose it spontaneously on the back of her letter — rather, he copied (or perhaps had already drafted) a short piece he had written in Amherst in the summer of 1969, then inscribed it in response to her 1970 request. This was not uncommon for Ginsberg, who often reused earlier notebook material or brief lyrics as “autograph poems” for fans].
A fine example of Ginsberg’s generosity toward admirers, providing an original, unpublished poem in autograph form.
Condition: Folded for mailing, light handling wear, but clean and well-preserved.
Item #34199 Price: US$900.00