Poem of the Month Club : A Complete Portfolio Of 48 Broadsheets All Signed By The Poets With Related Ephemera : Housed Within The Publisher’s Original Portfolio by Kingsley Amis, W.H. Auden, John Betjeman, Robert Graves, Thom Gunn, Seamus Heaney, Stevie Smith, Philip Larkin, Kathleen Raine, C. Day Lewis, Stephen Spender et al - 1970-77

A complete portfolio of the 48 Broadsheets published by The Poem of the Month Club between 1970-1977. Folio size broadsheets which are in near Fine condition with a just some light toning and creasing to the sheet edges in a few of the broadsheets. There is a faint paper clip indentation to the upper edge of a few of the broadsheets. Each poem has been signed by the author and in the case of John Betjeman's poem there is the usual hand corrected annotations. Poets represented include Kingsley Amis, W.H. Auden, John Betjeman, Robert Graves, Thom Gunn, Seamus Heaney, Stevie Smith, Philip Larkin, Kathleen Raine, Stephen Spender et al. The portfolio is housed within the publisher's original portfolio, secured with silk ties to the leading edge and printed and lettered in black to the front panel. The portfolio has a little wear to the spine end and corners. The portfolio is accompanied by 19 loosely inserted 'Poem of the Month' newsletters which include poet biographies and background information to the poems. Founded in 1970 by Jack H. Clark and Winston Fletcher, the Poem of the Month Club sought to publish new work by leading poets, which was to be signed by the authors and presented on high-quality materials suitable for display. Roy Fuller and C. Day Lewis acted as recruiters for the enterprise and were also part of the roster themselves. The print run for each poem was 1000 copies. Given every copy had to be signed by the poets concerned, there were frequent delays in getting the poems out to subscribers, and many of the publisher's apologetic letters to subscribers are included here among the newsletters. The Club folded in 1977, but not before publishing new work from most of the leading poets of the day. Increasingly scarce to find these signed broadsheets as a complete collection, more-so housed within the original publisher's portfolio, with most sets having been broken up and sold separately. Collectible. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.