Heaney (Seamus) Door into the Dark
£275
London, Faber & Faber, 1969.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 15s.
Heaney’s second collection of poetry, preceded by his widely acclaimed Death of a Naturalist (1966). The poems graphically depict the author’s rural upbringing, from the local forge to the banks of Lough Neagh, concluding with his iconic poem ‘Bogland’.
In stock
A little very light foxing; cloth very good; jacket very good.
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"This astonishing story…was written in English by a West African, and is in part the product of African folk-lore, stimulated by European inventions." (jacket).
A very good copy of this debut novel by Nigerian author Amos Tutuola, the first African novel published in English outside of Africa, praised by Dylan Thomas as "brief, thronged, grisly and bewitching". Tutuola's works, often drawing upon Yoruba traditions & folklore, were well received in the UK & US (far more than they were originally in his home country), drawing international acclaim and helping open up African writing to a wider audience.
Given the recent prices achieved by this and other similar works by African authors at auction it seems probable that we are experiencing something of a, possibly overdue, reappraisal & resurgence of interest in these writers.
The jacket is designed by the well-known artist & illustrator Barnett Freedman.