first edition
1964 · New York City
by Sanders, Ed; Fainlight, Harry; Ashbery, John; Koch, Kenneth
New York City: Fuck You Press, 1964. Very good plus.. Complete set of Ed Sander's short-lived "Quote of the Week" from his notorious press, featuring three brief selections from Harry Fainlight, John Ashbery, and Kenneth Koch. Run off over the course of several weeks in the fall of 1964, these three gossipy, insular, self-referential broadsides are among the most ephemeral and quintessentially FU productions to be pulled off of Sanders' Lower East Side mimeograph. The first, dated Sept. 5th, is by Harry Fainlight (1935-1982) and transcribes a piece of a conversation Fainlight delivered at Bickfords in Times Square: "I have piles / I thought it was / gonorrhea / it's terrible / I have to / do all / kinds of / sordid blow job / scenes / now." The second, dated Sept. 14th, records poet John Ashbery's reaction (overheard at a party at Bill Berkson's on East 57th Street) to Ed Sanders' recently-issued TOE-QUEEN POEMS. And the third, dated September 23rd, finds Kenneth Koch having just read Harry Fainlight's first Quote of the Week: "It's shit. It's all shit." All of these Quotes are individually scarce, and this is the first time we've seen them offered as a set. Rare thus. 11'' x 8.5''. Three mimeographed broadsides printed recto only on pink paper.
(Inventory #: 45791)