Iāll go ahead and say it: Robert Morgan might very well be the best living American poet. He is certainly the best living poet from our region. His work spans decades, and each book plays with different forms, styles, subjects, and characters. From hardscrabble farms to pondering solar terrestrial physics, his work spans the gambit and does so with a poetic clarity few can rival. He published his first book āZirconia Poemsā in 1969. This is one of the 25 hardback copies Iāve only heard rumors of until now. My friend Chan Gordon helped me find some of Morganās rarer chapbooks and such, and he always joked that one day he would sell me his Zirconia. Chan would go on to publish a small fine press edition of Morganās later book āOctober Light.ā Morgan sent Chan this copy, and it includes the accompanying letter. Iām pleased to add it to the collection, as it will also serve as a reminder of Chanās longstanding love and promotion of literature from the southern mountains. Iāve included the poems āHuntingā and āJunkyard After Stormā here. Fine book, without a jacket as issued. Numbered 19/25, and signed by Morgan. Association Copy. A new cornerstone of the collection. #robertmorgan #zirconiapoems #lillabuleropress #rarebooks #firstedition #bookcollection #bookcollecting #bookcollection #bibliophile #bookporn #bookhunting #bookstagram #modernfirsts #modernfirsteditions #finebooks #signedbooks #shelfie #southernliterature #southernlit #tennessee #appalachianlit #appalachianliterature #kentucky #northcarolina #virginia #westvirginia #appalachianpoetry https://www.instagram.com/p/CqWksHPsRY0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=















