Accidentally on Purpose

1 of 100 copies printed for Robert Frost (from an edition of 10,600 copies). Oblong 16mo. (7.5 x 12.5 cm),Publisher's stapled wrappers, accompanied with the original envelopes, 12 pp. Printed by the Spiral Press (New York), 1960. A fine example.

Inscribed by Robert Frost to his cousin Joseph Frost and his wife Rebecca in Maine. Rare inscribed with this noteworthy association.

First appearing as Frost's Christmas card in 1960, "Accidentally on Purpose" was later published in his final volume of poetry In the Clearing as "Cluster of Faith." "The poem explores the idea of evolution and asserts that "there was a purpose in the development of the universe, even if the 'scientific wits' cannot precisely state it," (The Robert Frost Encyclopedia, Tuten and Zubizarreta).

Joseph William Pepperrell Frost (1923-2008) was a historian and writer from Maine who, throughout his life, would share a close bond with his cousin Robert. With about fifty years between them, the two first met when Joseph was a young boy during Robert and Elinor's visit to the Frost ancestral home in the late 1920s. Later, Joseph's college years would be marked with frequent visits to stay with his cousin, even accompanying Robert to some of his many speaking engagements. In adulthood, he dedicated part of his time to researching and compiling records related to Frost family genealogy, a collection of which is now housed within the Portsmouth Athenaeum of New Hampshire.

[Crane B32].

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