Collected Works of Paul Metcalf, 1987–1997

October 1, 1997 • 6.5 x 9.5 • 600 pages • 978-1-56689-062-5

This volume completes the collected works of an American genius that Coffee House has helped rediscover.

Coffee House Press is proud to announce the completion of the collected works of Paul Metcalf with the release of Volume III. Critical acclaim has been unanimous in declaring Paul Metcalf a newly rediscovered genius.

Of particular note to Metcalf collectors is the debut of his latest two significant works—Huascarán, a magnificent poetic tribute to the Indians of Peru and The Wonderful White Whale of Kansas, a brilliant essay encompassing a thoughtful look at Melville, The Wizard of Oz, and the concept of home, available exclusively in this collection. Also included are Louis the Toch, Firebird, Golden Delicious, “. . . and nobody objected,” Araminta and the Coyotes, Mountaineers Are Always Free!, Where Do You Put the Horse?, and Three Plays.

Published in limited editions throughout his career by small idealistic presses, Metcalf has nonetheless attracted a loyal following, including such fans as Robert Creeley, William Gass, Wendell Berry, and Guy Davenport. His reevaluation of our history, his exploration of our multiethnic roots, and his ecological concerns make his work especially timely as we near the end of the twentieth century.

About the Author

Paul Metcalf (1917–1999) was an American writer and the great-grandson of Herman Melville. His three volume Collected Works were published by Coffee House Press in 1996.

Reviews

“Like Nathanial Hawthorne or William Carlos Williams, Black Mountain poet Paul Metcalf accrues literary authority out of an acute sense of American history, as if that history were itself the fabled last frontier, a wilderness of wealth, massacre and movement to be traced, ultimately, in a verse as direct as the names on a map. . . . Those who know his work already will be excited to have these pieces all in one place.” —Publishers Weekly

“In this third and final volume of his brilliantly original, form-defying collected works, Metcalf emerges as a shrewd literary commentator in a series of bracing essays on writing, reading, and being.” —Booklist