Typescript Lectern Copy of "Hard Not to be King"
(1950). 13pp. Signed typescript with Frost's manuscript correction to the title, changing "Hard Not to be King" to "Hard to Keep from Being King," and noting "As read at the American Academy." Additionally inscribed by the author "For Reginald Cook" on the final page. Cook was a close friend of the poet and the director of the Bread Loaf School of English from 1946-1964. This was the lectern copy from which Frost read when he first presented the poem at the American Academy of Arts and Letters in New York in the spring of 1950. The text is printed in a large font, as Frost's eyesight was declining during this period of his life. This long, philosophical poem was first published in the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1951, and again later that year in an edition of 300 copies by House of Books. Several changes were made between this copy of the poem and the version finally anthologized in 1962 as part of Frost's last published collection, In the Clearing. Title alterations, adjustments to wording and spelling were made between the typescript version and the anthologized poem, and some entire lines were added or altered. An intriguing look into Frost's process of writing and revision. Very fine. Item #25565
Price: $3,750.00