Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

School for Dark Thoughts by Charles Simic (1978) Charles Seluzicki

I went by appointment to the Wilson Special Collections Library at UNC Chapel Hill to see a copy in the Rare Books Collection.

Hand printed and hand bound, signed - #84 of 235 copies.  First sheet is not part of the binding (without it, the copy would be incomplete).

Interesting page layout by the printer – no isolation of poems, once a poem ends, the next starts on the same page.  A set number of lines per page printed - if a poem or stanza hits the line limit, the next line is on the next page - a little jarring at times.

Simic tends to use quatrains but not always.  Often, he capitalizes each line.  But in some poems, only the first word of a sentence or stanza is capitalized.

The original copy sold for $22.50 (penciled on a blank page).  Now some of the 235 copies sell for over $150.00.

The pamphlet includes eight poems:

1. The Stream
2. School for Dark Thoughts (title poem)
3. The Great Anonymous Eye and Ear
4. Window Washer
5. The Guest (longest poem – 3 pages)
6. Note Slipped Under a Door
7. Peaceful Kingdom
8. Whispers In the Next Room