Prairie Fire: The Politics of Revolutionary Anti-Imperialism FIRST EDITION
- Paperback
- Red Dragon Print Collective / Weather Underground, 1974
Red Dragon Print Collective / Weather Underground, 1974. First Edition. Paperback. Good. First Edition. Paperback. 10.5" x 6.75". 154pp. Original red printed wrappers, tattered, chipped, and edgeworn, with the front cover half detached. Contents a bit grubby and soiled, with substantial and relevant annotations. Handwritten letter with fold creases and stains.
An exceptional association copy of the foundational political statement of the Weather Underground, accompanied by a contemporary handwritten letter documenting the organization's clandestine distribution network in real time.
The letter, a single sheet in ink signed "Barb & Jay," and dated July 27th, shortly after Prairie Fire was officially released in the summer of 1974. The writers describe a New York publication called the City Star receiving two boxes of Prairie Fire along with a letter from the Underground directing them to distribute copies to sympathetic organizations and groups - exactly the grassroots network the WU employed to disseminate the book outside commercial channels. The writers forward a copy to Bloomington, Indiana via visiting associates ("Mark & Susie"), providing a rare ground-level view of how the book moved from the underground into activist networks across the country.
The copy itself bears extensive penciled and inked marginalia throughout, notable for their editorial rather than readerly character: recurring directives to "rework," "expand," and "add to" specific passages suggest the annotator may have been engaged in revision work toward a subsequent edition, though this cannot be confirmed. The Weather Underground did subsequently produce the journal Osawatomie (1975-76) as a continuation of Prairie Fire's political project.
Together, the copy and letter constitute a primary source document of the Weather Underground's publishing and distribution strategy at a pivotal moment in the organization's history. Uncommon in any form; with this provenance, rare.
An exceptional association copy of the foundational political statement of the Weather Underground, accompanied by a contemporary handwritten letter documenting the organization's clandestine distribution network in real time.
The letter, a single sheet in ink signed "Barb & Jay," and dated July 27th, shortly after Prairie Fire was officially released in the summer of 1974. The writers describe a New York publication called the City Star receiving two boxes of Prairie Fire along with a letter from the Underground directing them to distribute copies to sympathetic organizations and groups - exactly the grassroots network the WU employed to disseminate the book outside commercial channels. The writers forward a copy to Bloomington, Indiana via visiting associates ("Mark & Susie"), providing a rare ground-level view of how the book moved from the underground into activist networks across the country.
The copy itself bears extensive penciled and inked marginalia throughout, notable for their editorial rather than readerly character: recurring directives to "rework," "expand," and "add to" specific passages suggest the annotator may have been engaged in revision work toward a subsequent edition, though this cannot be confirmed. The Weather Underground did subsequently produce the journal Osawatomie (1975-76) as a continuation of Prairie Fire's political project.
Together, the copy and letter constitute a primary source document of the Weather Underground's publishing and distribution strategy at a pivotal moment in the organization's history. Uncommon in any form; with this provenance, rare.
Details
Title
Prairie Fire: The Politics of Revolutionary Anti-Imperialism FIRST EDITION
Author
Weather Underground
Binding
Paperback
Condition
Good
Publisher
Red Dragon Print Collective / Weather Underground
Date
1974
Edition
First Edition