If I Had a Piece of Life

by (GARCIA MARQUEZ, Gabriel). [Johnny Welch]

$275 · Offered by Biblio

First edition

(Dundas), [Ontario]: The Aliquando Press, 2001. Hardcover. Fine. First edition. Oblong 24mo, [28]pp. Decorative paper-covered boards with publisher's printed paper cover label, Limited to fifty numbered copies. Fine copy. Initially attributed to Garcia Marquez, but actually written by Johnny Welch. Apparently a hoax, the poem was published in 2000, in several Latin American newspapers, under the title, "La Marioneta" ("The Puppet"), said to be a farewell ode by Colombia's ailing Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It turned out to be the work of a little-known Mexican ventriloquist, Johnny Welch, who admitted to writing it for his puppet sidekick, 'Mofles.' Reuters ultimately published a correction, under the headline, "Farewell Poem Fools Readers," but the poem continues to circulate, especially on the internet, under Garcia Marquez's authorship. A fine copy. Scarce. *OCLC* locates nine holdings of this edition (two in the U.S.), not noting Garcia Marquez's supposed authorship (his name is on the title page), or Welch's actual authorship. Colophon states "In remembrance of all victims of fanaticism, hatred, and revenge, and with affirmed belief in the sanctity of life, fifty copies of this text were produced by Wiliam Reuter at the Aliquando Press, Dundas, in September 2001

• Publisher: The Aliquando Press
• Year: 2001
• Edition: First Edition
• Binding: hardcover

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