Description
Signed first edition of Angle of Ascent: New and Selected Poems by Robert Hayden.
Octavo, 131pp. Full black cloth, title in gilt on spine. Full number line listed on copyright page. Includes a card from the publisher requesting a review from the recipient. Solid text block, faint foxing to edges, a near fine example. In the publisher’s dust jacket, $6.95 retail price on front flap, light shelf wear, faint toning to flaps. Inscribed by Hayden on the title page: “For Dick, whose poems are a part of my life – Bob / Washington / January 29, 1976.” Includes multiple documents laid-in, namely a program from the University of Michigan’s Tribute to Hayden on Sunday, February 24, 1980, and a letter announcing the death of Hayden the following day, February 25th.
Robert Hayden (1913-1980) was an African American poet, essayist, and educator known for his profound works on personal identity. In 1976, Hayden became the first African American to be appointed as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, a position now known as the U.S. Poet Laureate. His celebrated works like “Those Winter Sundays” and “Middle Passage” along with numerous collections like “A Ballad of Remembrance” (1962) and “Angle of Ascent” (1975) have cemented his legacy as a significant figure in American literature.
