RIVER

London: Faber and Faber in association with James and James. 1983. First edition, first printing. First edition, first printing. Inscribed by the author to the poet and Arvon Foundation founder John Moat and his wife Antoinette. Publisher's original pictorial card covers. Illustrated with colour photographs by Peter Keen throughout. An excellent better than very good copy, the binding square and firm showing only light rubbing to the extremities. The contents with the author's presentation inscription to the half title and a single word emendation in black ink to page 106 are otherwise clean throughout. A notable association copy. Inscribed by the author in blue ink on the half title "Dainty Pictures and verses / in waders / Polish and muddy the river / that made us / For Antoinette and John / with love / from Ted / 23 Sept 1983". John Moat, together with fellow poet John Fairfax founded The Arvon Foundation in 1968. Both men were friends of Ted Hughes but, as Hughes remembered later, when Moat first outlined his plan for an innovative programme to encourage young people to write, he "more or less told him outright" that he thought the scheme unworkable. Luckily, the two went ahead with their plans and Hughes's expectations were completely changed after he was invited to read some verse to the first group of students on the final evening of their course. What he discovered there, he wrote, was that "something extraordinary had happened" and the "voltage of new-found imagination and eloquence and originality in those students' pages seemed like an explosion". He was surprised and immensely moved. From then on, Hughes supported the Arvon Foundation in every way he could. (Ann Skea: Ted Hughes and The Arden Foundation, 2016). Further details and images for any of the items listed are available on request. Lucius Books welcomes direct contact with our customers.