National Poetry Month titles; 4- whoa! make that 3!- classics! Make us an offer.

Bishop, Elizabeth, Collected Poems, 1927-1979 (Farrar Straus Giroux, 1st ed. 3rd printing, paperback, 1984) LOC 82-2119. Poet Laureate of the United States, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner, Bishop’s stature has only grown since her death at in 1979. She spent enormous effort and time over her poems, and this volume shows her growth and maturity. Paperback, very good condition. 284 pp, 9.5” x 6”. Rare. HBB price: $20.

-Blyth, R.H., Zen In English Literature and Oriental Classics (Tokyo: The Hokuseido Press, 1st ed., 1942). A vegetarian and World War I conscientious objector imprisoned for his beliefs, Reginald Howard Blyth (1898-1964) emigrated to Korea as a college professor of English in 1925. He studied zen, learned Chinese and Japanese, and, after divorcing his English wife and marrying a Japanese one, moved to Japan in 1936. There he taught, and wrote a series of books on zen and haiku. Though interned by the Japanese for the war, Blyth emerged as liaison between the Imperial Household and General MacArthur’s occupation staff, and became tutor to the current emperor, Akihito. Blyth had a major influence on Western thought about zen and haiku, especially among the Beat writers of the 1950s. Zen in English Literature and Oriental Classics was his most popular book; in this wartime, English-language version it is quite rare, and rarer still with a very good dust jacket as HBB’s copy sports. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, very good condition. 5.25” x 7.25”. HBB price: $175.

-Clements, A.C. , The Mystical Poetry of Thomas Traherne (Harvard, 1st. ed., 1969) ISBN 674-59750-8. HBB price: $25. A reconsideration of the mystical English poet (c. 1636-1674).

Inscribed and signed by the author to a colleague, Prof. Glenn Burne. Academic hardcover published for the trade; contains a Preface, an introduction, notes and an index; [xii] + 232 pages; approximately 5 1/2" x 8 1/4"; pale yellow cloth covered boards with title lettered in green on the spine; printed dust-jacket.

Exterior — clean and presentable ... very  well-preserved
Binding — Solid
Interior — Clean and unmarked throughout. Signed inscription from the author on the front fly-leaf: "To Glenn, with the hope that in reading this book you may find much of the pleasure that I did in writing it. Art."  Burne was a highly respected scholar and professor. He retired as chair of the English Department of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.



-Ehrmann, Max, The Desiderata of Happiness: A Collection of Philosophical Poems (Crown Publishers, 1st ed., 7th printing, 1995). ISBN 0-517-70184-7. 37 poems by the lawyer and family meat packing and overalls company business executive (1872-1945) whose name soared to fame after the coincidental rediscovery of his 1927 prose poem, “Desiderata.” Through the 1960s and 70s it became a pop culture icon: Joan Crawford recited it; Leonard Nimoy recorded it. The elegant selection from his collected works (1948) gives a broader appreciation of the Indiana poet’s skills. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, very good condition. HBB price: $35.



Henry Bemis Books is one man’s attempt to bring more diversity and quality to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg market of devoted readers starved for choices. Our website is at www.henrybemisbookseller.blogspot.com. Henry Bemis Books is also happy to entertain reasonable offers on items in inventory; for pricing on this or others items, kindly private message us. Shipping is always free; local buyers are welcome to drop by and pick up their purchases at our location off Peachtree Road in Northwest Charlotte if they like.

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