Looking for Luck

New York: W.W. Norton, 1992. First edition, wrappers issue, of Pulitzer winner Maxine Kumin’s tenth collection of poetry, inscribed by Kumin to modernist poetry scholar and longtime Bryn Mawr professor Emily Wallace (1936-2019) and her husband Gregory Harvey. Kumin’s careful attention to the details of the natural world reflects her experience living on a farm in rural New Hampshire: “I tear the caul, look into eyes / as innocent, as skittery / as minnows. Three heaves, the shoulders pass.” Laid into this copy is the printed invitation to Kumin’s April 1993 reading at Bryn Mawr, with the provost’s handwritten invitation to dinner with Kumin before the event. A fine inscribed copy. Single volume, measuring 8.25 x 5.5 inches: 94. Original color pictorial wrappers. Inscribed on title page: “for Gregory and Emily / Maxine Kumin / 15 Apr 93.” With: printed invitation to Kumin’s April 1993 reading at Bryn Mawr College, and handwritten invitation from Bryn Mawr provost inviting the recipients to dinner with Kumin.