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I have come to a crucial point in my research for my Edsel Ford
article, and I need the help of those on the list who were of age
in the early sixties. For the time being, take as a given that
VN wanted, in 1961, to obtain a copy of Edsel Ford's book, _A
Thicket of Sky_. Here are the facts as I know them.
1) VN was living in France.
2) Ford's book was published in 1961 by Homestead House, Fort Smith,
Arkansas.
3) Thicket of Sky was the first book published by HH, a press set up
by Ford and his friend, Hank Spruce (what a great name!).
4) The press run is unknown (to me) but the book was reviewed in
several places, a half-hour radio program in West Virginia was devoted
to it in 1962, and used copies are still fairly easy to find. So I
believe there were a good number of copies printed. It came out in
both cloth and paper, with wrappers for both.
My question, then, is how difficult would it have been for VN to track
down a copy of the book? I assume it would have to be special ordered,
perhaps through a friend or editor? How much legwork would this have
required?
I say the answer to this is crucial because much extra-textual
evidence points to VN having only read Ford's poem in the
Herald-Tribune. However, there is a key textual clue which points
to his having seen the book itself. I'm trying to resolve this
dissonance.
Many thanks,
Matt Roth