Between the Covers

Unbound. First edition. Small quarto. [24]pp. Text in Swedish and English. Printed wrappers. Wrappers with light sunning and wear, near fine. Inscribed on the title page to the editors of *The Quarterly Review of Literature*, Theodore and Renée Weiss: "for Ted and Renée / with warmest greetings / Philip Martin," and with one manuscript correction in Martin's hand. Martin notes in one of the letters offered here that the booklet was published in an edition of 200 copies, none of which were offered for sale.

Also included are two letters from Martin to Theodore Weiss, dated 1980 and 1981. The first is a [1]p. TLS with a [1]p. postscript in manuscript, written from Minnesota with a Monash University return address. The letter offers some personal updates, a thoughtful review of Weiss's poetry, and offers two sets of poems for publication in the *Quarterly Review of Literature*. The second letter, dated 1981 and was sent with the pamphlet, contains some poetic chit-chat and throws out the possibility of Weiss coming to Australia as a writer-in-residence.

The true purpose of both letters is to apprise Weiss of two publishing projects that Martin has in the works. One is his of own poetry, and the other is the translated poems of the noted Swedish poet Lars Gustafsson. (Martin and Gustafsson's friendship and collaboration began in 1974, and *From Sweden* is dedicated to the Swedish Institute, which brought Philip Martin to Sweden in 1976.)

Included here are 10 poems over 13 typed pages by Gustafsson, translated by Philip Martin. This includes five sonnets, two poems referencing classical composers, and two longer works: "Elegy on a Dead Labrador," and "Ballad of the Stone Forest in Yunnan." *From Sweden* contains seven poems by Gustafsson and translated by Martin; three of them are reproduced in the included typescript.

A modest but engaging collection of correspondence and translations that connects poets from Australia, Sweden, and the United States.

Item #457242