Stanzas in Meditation.

Los Angeles, CA Sun & Moon Press, 1994. Paperback Reprint Edition [1994], Second Printing thus. First published by Yale University Press in 1956. Very Near Fine in Wraps: shows a small bit of sticker residue to the lower rear panel and the panel shows the very faintest soiling to the white background field; else flawless; the binding is square and secure; the text is clean. Free of creases to the panels. Free of creases to the backstrip. Free of creased or dog-eared pages in the text. Free of underlining, hi-lighting, notations, or marginalia. Free of any ownership names, dates, addresses, notations, inscriptions, stamps, plates, or labels. A handsome, very nearly-new copy, structurally sound and tightly bound, showing a couple of minor, unobtrusive cosmetic imperfections. Bright and clean. Corners sharp. Virtually 'As New'. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 8vo. (7.5 x 5 x 0.65 inches). 218 pages. Preface by Douglas Messerli. Language: English. Weight: 9 ounces. Sun and Moon Classics Series 44. Reprint Edition [1994], Second Printing thus. First published by Yale University Press in 1956. Trade Paperback. Written in 1932 at the house that Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas had rented in the Rhone Valley, Stanzas in Meditation is one of Stein's most abstract and complex works. It is almost as if it was conceived as a mirror image of 'The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas', penned in the same year. The latter, written in a more direct language, brought Stein international acclaim and resulted in the attention she received from 1934 on, while the former remained unavailable until its publication, after her death, in 1956.To Stein's admirers, however, this is one of her most important works, a poetic achievement central to her canon. From John Ashbery's groundbreaking essay in review of the book in 1957, poets and critics have recognized the importance of this singular masterpiece.