First edition of this New Directions Paperbook by acclaimed American poet Denise Levertov, published by New Directions in 1961. 8vo (5.5” x 8”), printed wrappers, 87 pages. Inscribed by the author on the half-title, "From Den to Nik / March '63," to her thirteen-year-old son, Nikolai ("Nik") Goodman. While maternal presentation inscriptions often convey overt affection (and later Denise-to Nikolai inscriptions would trend in that direction) the spare directness of this example feels characteristic of the complicated family dynamics documented by Levertov's biographers. Nik, born in 1949, would remain a central yet sometimes troubled presence in the lives of both Denise Levertov and Mitchell Goodman, who would divorce in 1975.
Laid into the volume is a newspaper clipping of a February 1968 letter to the editor by Mitchell Goodman titled "Draft Resistance," advocating opposition to the Vietnam War at the height of his antiwar activism. The clipping remained tucked between pages 22 and 23 long enough to leave corresponding offset tanning, suggesting it was preserved in place within Nilolai’s copy from the period rather than inserted later.
The Jacob's Ladder marked Levertov's emergence as one of the defining poetic voices of her generation, while the accompanying Goodman clipping situates this otherwise modest paperback within the political upheavals of the 1960s and a family dynamic shaped by that era.
A remarkable association copy linking Denise Levertov, Mitchell Goodman, and their son Nikolai Goodman.
Damp staining to rear wrapper, causing light rippling to adjacent leaves. Moderate bumping and rubbing to extremities. Content clean.
First edition of this New Directions Paperbook by acclaimed American poet Denise Levertov, published by New Directions in 1961. 8vo (5.5” x 8”), printed wrappers, 87 pages. Inscribed by the author on the half-title, "From Den to Nik / March '63," to her thirteen-year-old son, Nikolai ("Nik") Goodman. While maternal presentation inscriptions often convey overt affection (and later Denise-to Nikolai inscriptions would trend in that direction) the spare directness of this example feels characteristic of the complicated family dynamics documented by Levertov's biographers. Nik, born in 1949, would remain a central yet sometimes troubled presence in the lives of both Denise Levertov and Mitchell Goodman, who would divorce in 1975.
Laid into the volume is a newspaper clipping of a February 1968 letter to the editor by Mitchell Goodman titled "Draft Resistance," advocating opposition to the Vietnam War at the height of his antiwar activism. The clipping remained tucked between pages 22 and 23 long enough to leave corresponding offset tanning, suggesting it was preserved in place within Nilolai’s copy from the period rather than inserted later.
The Jacob's Ladder marked Levertov's emergence as one of the defining poetic voices of her generation, while the accompanying Goodman clipping situates this otherwise modest paperback within the political upheavals of the 1960s and a family dynamic shaped by that era.
A remarkable association copy linking Denise Levertov, Mitchell Goodman, and their son Nikolai Goodman.
Damp staining to rear wrapper, causing light rippling to adjacent leaves. Moderate bumping and rubbing to extremities. Content clean.
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