Edna St. Vincent Millay — Conversation at Midnight

New York and London, Harper & Brothers, 1937. First edition. Cloth. A smart first edition of Millay's long verse poem Conversations At Midnight, with the original price-clipped dust wrapper. First edition. A long verse poem passionately searching for new gods to replace tattered idols. It is a sequence that provides daring and provocative expression in the dialogue between six men of widely different tastes to explore the new thinking of the time. After a kerosene heater exploded in a hotel in which Millay was staying in 1936, the ensuing fire destroyed the only copy of this work. She would go on to rewrite it from memory and release it the following year. Written by Edna St. Vincent Millay, an American lyrical poet and playwright considered a renowned social figure and a noted feminist. She was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1923 for her piece Ballad of the Harp-Weaver. She was also the second woman to be awarded the Frost Medal for her lifetime contribution to American poetry. In the original half black cloth with blue paper boards. Externally, very smart with light shelf wear to the extremities. Original price-clipped dust wrapper is sound with light shelf wear and chipping to the extremities. Sunning to the spine, small closed tears to the extremities, and the odd mark. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are very bright and clean with light age toning to the endpapers. Bookseller's label to the rear pastedown. Very Good Indeed . Ill.: None. Very Good Indeed/Good.