Kathleen Raine — The Pythoness

London, Hamish Hamilton, 1949. First edition. Cloth. The first edition of a scarce anthology of philosophical poetry from award-winning poet and Platonic scholar Kathleen Raine. The first edition of The Pythoness, a scarce abstract poetry anthology, written by English scholar, poet and literary critic Kathleen Raine. In the publisher's original burgundy cloth. Among the most proficient philosophical scholars of her era, Raine weaves her knowledge of Platonic and Pythagorean thought into her poems including Plato's Cave, Self and the titular Pythoness. Raine would later win the Cholmondeley award and the Queen's Gold Medal for her poetry, and was knighted a CBE in 2000. In the publisher"s original burgundy cloth. Externally, mostly smart, with faint handling marks to boards. Fading to the spine, with a couple of spots. Minor bumps to the head and tail of the spine, and to the extremities. A couple of spots to pastedowns. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are bright and mostly clean, with faint spots to first couple and final leaves. Very Good . Ill.: None. Very Good .