Berlin, Lucia

SO LONG: STORIES, 1987-1992 [WITH] WHERE I LIVE NOW - INSCRIBED TO KENWARD ELMSLIE

Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow Press, 1993, 1999. First Editions. The second and third volumes of Berlin's short fiction published by the Black Sparrow Press, collecting between them 41 stories written between 1987-1998, several of which first appeared in the pages of City Lights Review, Folio, Gas, In This Corner, Jejeune, Barnabe Mountain Review, Brick, Exquisite Corpse, New American Writing, and Sniper Logic, et al. A distinguished pair of copies from the library of poet, publisher, and librettist Kenward Elmslie (1929-2022), who Berlin met in 1994 at Naropa, where they were both visiting writers. "Berlin called it an "instant friendship." "We cut through right away into each other's deep feelings. It was like falling in love, or going back to your childhood best friend in first grade, that kind of really pure friendship" (Love, Loosha: The Letters of Lucia Berlin & Kenward Elmslie, p.1). Her relationship with Elmslie would prove to be the most significant friendship during the last decade of her life, resulting in hundreds of letters, postcards, and mail art exchanged between them.

In a June 13, 1999 letter, Elmslie mentions the copy of Where I Live Now Berlin had sent him, and was complimentary about her work: "Ron Padgett is reading Where I Live Now, loaned downhill. He's tough, and his advance word is: good stuff. Specific praise for the ending of the doc office cover-up tale ["A Love Affair"]...The placement of the tales is, I think, masterful. Your Body of Work, by now, is so strong. Who else has a continuum of short fictions that hold up like – like Gang Busters...Your very own niche. In ancient times, Kathy Mansfield. Dotty Parker. And Tru [Capote]" (pp.66-67). Berlin would write him a month later, ecstatic about Publisher's Weekly giving her book a rave review. He responded: "I'm so happy about your news – THE review...For some reason, I'm afraid to articulate WHY I'm so drawn to your stories, as if that'll entail proving I'm a really smart critic. Because I'm not. So it remains a private matter, this strong feeling for your work, connected to Chekhov, that much I know, and a blissful summer working on a libretto of The Seagull" (pp.86-87). Throughout their decade-long correspondence, they would critique each other's work (and that of their contemporaries), gossip, and share the intimate details of their lives. Berlin wrote Elmslie faithfully, right up until a month before she died in November, 2004; at her funeral, "Kenward was last to pay her tribute, and he sung a capella a lyric he wrote for his play City Junket, Lucia's favorite of his songs: "Who'll Prop Me Up in the Rain?"" (p.321). We've traced fewer than a handful of association copies of Berlin's works in commerce, and none reflecting this degree of intimacy. Item #6377

First Printings, wrappered issue. Two octavo volumes (22.75cm); original decorative card wrappers; [10],11-214,[6]; [10],11-240,[4]pp. So Long is inscribed on the front endpaper to Kenward Elmslie: "February 1997 / Dearest Kenward / It has been so great to see you + hear you / Love, Lucia." Where I Live Now is warmly inscribed to Elmslie on the title page: "May, 1999 / For dearest Kenward / with all my love / Lucia." Both volumes gently spine-sunned, lightly edgeworn, with some mild dust- and finger-soil to wrappers; Very Good+.

Price: $4,000.00