Roominghouse Madrigals

1988. First Edition. Signed. BUKOWSKI, Charles. The Roominghouse Madrigals. Early Selected Poems 1946-1966. Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow, 1988. Octavo, original half yellow cloth with paper spine label, original acetate dust jacket. $950.Signed limited first edition, number 120 of 400 special hardcover copies signed by the author with his signature sketch of a smoking man holding a bottle, along with a flower and a dog.Characterized by its dark tone, surprising lyricism and complex use of metaphor, this collection of Bukowski's early poems highlights his evolution as a poet and provides an interesting glimpse into ""that wondrous and crazy time… those distant hours"" when ""the typewriter was there when the job wasn't and the food wasn't and the rent wasn't."" Published simultaneously with 500 hardcover trade copies and 176 hand-bound copies including signed prints. Krumhansl 108c. A very nearly fine copy with traces of shelfwear to lower edges.