A DIARY AND A SONG FOR A.

(New York): Adventures in Poetry, 1973. First printing. Very good plus.. Scarce signed first edition of this book of short prose writings — with a lovely design by Gorey and his charming very small signature, along with an inscription by Elliott. Gorey and Elliott, a writer described by Fagin as "completely off the radar screen" when these prose pieces were published, shared a connection in John Ashbery: Elliott's unhappy former co-worker at the Brooklyn Public Library, who first met Frank O'Hara at an exhibition of Gorey's paintings. Elliott, a close friend of Paul and Jane Bowles and a fellow resident with them in the February House, the short-lived (truncated) Brooklyn artist's commune, was for Ashbery the best thing about working at the library, introducing the younger poet to Bowles, Mary Butts, and Jean Rhys, among others (Roffman). Elliott died in 1974, only a year after this first book publication; his other works were written variously under his own name and the pseudonyms Richard Fields, Richard Hotchkiss, and David Martin. Published by Larry Fagin's Adventures in Poetry imprint. 11'' x 8.5''. Original side-stapled pictorial wrappers by Edward Gorey. Mimeographed text. [60] pages. Signed by Gorey to front cover, and Inscribed by Elliott on title page: "To Robert Wilson / from / Richard Elliott / with much respect." Mild toning to wrappers. Touches of handing wear, trace surface soil. Interior clean and unmarked. Binding tight. (Inventory #: 42836)