OLIVER, Mary.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

New and Selected Poems. First editions, hardback issues, presentation copies, each inscribed by the author to her friend June Jensen. The first volume is inscribed: "For June, with our love, Mary & Molly. Provincetown, August, 1992". The second, published 13 years later, is inscribed to Jensen in memory of Oliver's partner, the photographer Molly Malone Cook, who had died the previous month.The second inscription reads: "To June, who knows what a wonder and a treasure we have lost, and how lucky we have been in our lives to have her in ours. Love, Mary. Sept. 2005, Provincetown." Loosely inserted is an autograph letter signed from Oliver to Jensen, in an envelope postmarked 8 September 2005, discussing a visit planned for the following month. Two photographs are also included: one of Cook, captioned "Molly August 2002"; the other of Oliver's dog Percy, inscribed by the poet on the reverse in Percy's voice: "Wishing you a joyous Christmas (Good intentions), Percy, 2005". Percy later appeared in several poems collected in Oliver's Dog Songs (2013).Oliver has also signed the title pages of both volumes. Together, they offer a broad retrospective survey of her poetry through 2005. The first volume won the 1992 National Book Award for Poetry. Oliver (1935-2019) lived for most of her writing career in Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Reviewing the first volume, Suzanne Matson compared her with Emerson and Emily Dickinson: "Her poetry is an excellent antidote for the excesses

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