GABRIEL: A POEM

New York City, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 80 pages. The author's book-length poem. One of Edward Hirsch's finest achievements. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only that, rather surprisingly for a book of poetry, sold out shortly after publication. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Edward Hirsch's "Gabriel: A Poem". A masterpiece of an elegy for his prematurely deceased son. It is the sublime poetic counter-voice to Joan Didion's memoir, "Blue Nights" (2011), about the just-as-sudden death of her daughter, Quintana Roo. "Never has there been a book of poems quite like 'Gabriel', in which a short life, a bewildering death, and the unanswerable sorrow of a father come together in such a sustained elegy. Speaks directly from Hirsch's heart to our own, without sentimentality. Poignantly direct and open to the strange vicissitudes and tricks of grief. In propulsive three-line stanzas, tells the story of how a once unstoppable child turned into an irreverent young adult, funny, rebellious, impulsive. Mixes his tale of Gabriel with the stories of other poets through the centuries who have also lost children. Enters the broad stream of human grief and raises in us the strange hope, even consolation, that we find in the poet's act of witnessing and transformation. It will be read and re-read" (Publisher's blurb). An absolute "must-have" title for Edward Hirsch collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black ink-pen upon a bookplate by Edward Hirsch. Supplied by Hirsch himself, the bookplate is beautiful and laid within. This title is a great book. As far as we know, this is the only copy (with Signed Bookplate) of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Edward Hirsch signed the bookplate, NOT the book. He did NOT tour to promote the book. Copies available online have serious flaws, are in multiple subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. "Earthly Measures" is regarded by Harold Bloom as one of the canonical works of the 20th century. One of the greatest poets of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER EDWARD HIRSCH TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 038535357X.