Paul Metcalf, Volume II

American history reimagined by Herman Melville’s great grandson, a Black Mountain poet. A stunning achievement.

Coffee House Press continues the publication of the complete collected works of Paul Metcalf with the release of Volume II in the series. This volume includes hilarious scandalous tales of the founding of Washington, D.C., harrowing vignettes of wounded Civil War soldiers, and poetic tributes to Willie Mays, Edgar Allen Poe, John Wilkes Booth, and the quirky names of America’s small towns. This volume is comprised of the complete texts of I-57, Zip Odes, Willie’s Throw, U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Both, The Island, and Waters of Potowmack.

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.

Publication date: June 1, 1997

Format: Hardcover

Dimensions: 6.5 x 9.5

Page count: 600 pages

ISBN: 9781566890564

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.

“In his method, Metcalf reminds us that the world is endlessly interesting; whatever is gleaned, even the strange or banal, matters to a story largely taken up in the interstices. . . . Metcalf’s project has been solitary and glacial in its undertaking, but readers would be at a series deficit with out.”

—Library Journal

“Deeply immersed in American history and the paradoxes of our culture, Metcalf stretches narrative beyond traditional limits in an attempt to give voice to the cacophony of the past, the clamoring of the present, and the mind’s quicksilver processing of memory, thought, and fantasy. To that end, his writing is boldly improvisational and sporadically surreal, sparking with shifting emotions and perspectives.”

—Booklist