Hurrah for Anything - Nah, Not Today





I finally got around to reading Hurrah for Anything.  I am not a fan.  I really want to be.  I was much more charmed by Poemscapes.  Must have been the booze.  Sitting with a bloody Mariam, extra spicy with a stalk of Celery Flute for garnish, I am less than enthused by Hurrah.  Too early for whimsical.  My head is too fuzzy and my eye too clouded to see it clearly.

Jonathan Williams printed a ton of these.  Can a run of 2,500 be right?  Jargon as mass market paperback.  Williams went all out with this title, including a remarkable limited edition of 100 with hand-painted covers by Patchen.  I cannot believe that I do not feel the mojo on these either.  Must be the holiday blahs.  Scrooge to be sure.  The books are a real gift but I just keep thinking about the Charles Bukowski limiteds from Black Sparrow with the paintings tipped in or as a frontispiece, which I really do not like at all.   They seem manufactured despite the handmade touches.  The Patchen limiteds are of a different order and are truly remarkable examples of book art.  Come April I am going to search for these at the New York Antiquarian Show.  I am positive that I will be wowed by them.

JB      

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