THE PIECES OF THE CLOCK LIE SCATTERED

SIMIC, CHARLES. BROWN, HOLLY, Illustrator

Published by Printed by the Artist [at the Clockworks Press], Syracuse, New York, 1997

About this Item

288 x 237 mm. (11 1/4 x 9"). [3] leaves of text, plus etchings. Loose as issued inside a portfolio of handmade paper over thick boards, black cloth back and ties. Housed in a custom-made black cloth folding box, spine with morocco label (spine of the box a little faded). With embossed designs on title and colophon, and FIVE ETCHINGS, all with original tissue guards. SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR on the limitation page. In mint condition. One of just 10 copies printed, this artist's book combines etching and poetry for a particularly memorable result. Charles Simic (1938-2023), winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize in poetry and U.S. Poet Laureate for 2007-08, wrote moving, surrealistic poetry based on his own experiences, particularly his traumatic childhood in what was then Yugoslavia. "The Pieces of the Clock Lie Scattered" is a meditation on fleeting time and youth, told as the dreamy flashback of a broken clock. The sensual etchings by printmaker Holly Brown perfectly reflect the dreamlike quality of the text: dark forms emerge from a hazy background, slowly resolving from abstract to recognizable through the sequence of illustrations. Brown established Clockworks Press while still a student at Syracuse University, and the present work was printed there, with text set in Goudy Garamont. The production is elevated by the small visual details included, particularly the clock gears embossed on the title and colophon, subtly suggesting the broken clock of the text. This copy is from the collection of Laure-Anne Bosselaar (b. 1943) and her husband Kurt Brown (1944-2013). Bosselaar is a Belgian-American poet, translator, and editor who has published numerous works of poetry in multiple languages, including five collections of her own works. She has received various prizes and recognitions (Pushcart, Isabella Gardner, Breadloaf) and was named Poet Laureate of Santa Barbara in 2019. Sometimes publishing jointly with Bosselaar, Brown was also a prolific poet and editor of anthologies, as well as the founder and first director of the Aspen Writer's Conference, playing a pivotal role in shaping its early vision and establishing Aspen as a literary center. It was through the Aspen Writer's Conference that Bosselaar and Brown became friends with Simic, when Brown invited Simic to speak at the conference in the early 1990s. Bosselaar, reminiscing on a friendship of over two decades, wrote that "Charlie . . . and Kurt had a great friendship, and shared a common love for wine & poetry--so, often, the Simics would come to our house, and we d have a 'good bottle' or two around a dinner I'd cook for them.".

Seller Inventory # ST20338-060

Bibliographic Details

• Title: THE PIECES OF THE CLOCK LIE SCATTERED
• Publisher: Printed by the Artist [at the Clockworks Press], Syracuse, New York
• Publication Date: 1997
• Edition: No. 7 OF 10 COPIES.
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Women - Authors and Artists
  • Book Arts and Fine Printing (1945-present)
  • Poetry