The Occupy Wall Street Poetry Anthology.

New York: OWS,, 2012. A symbol of free speech from the heart of the Occupy movement First edition, number 53 of an estimated 1,600 copies, inscribed by Boyer to Lawrence Schwartzwald on the title page, "Thanks for helping to make this possible, Lawrence! Love, Stephen". Schwartzwald was a photographer for the New York Post and author of Reading New York and Famous Poets (both 2017). This copy is also signed by Gordon Gilbert, who helped Boyer run the makeshift People's Library in Zuccotti Park. This is the largest document to come from the Occupy Wall Street movement, a "living, breathing, and all-inclusive" anthology of protest poetry. It is rare in commerce, and we have located just nine copies institutionally - five in New York and none outside the US. During the nine-week protest, poetry assemblies were held at the People's Library, which provided free access to over 5,000 printed works for readers and championed free cultural exchange. Boyer, the librarian, wanted to preserve these recitations, so he and Filip Marinovich asked participants to submit their poetry online. They were soon inundated with verses from protesters across the country, including established poets such as Eileen Myles, Michael McClure, Adrienne Rich, and Anne Waldman. There was no selection criteria: any and all submissions were included. "It is not exclusively a political anthology", remarked Boyer, "as I don't see the Occupy Movement exclusively as a political movement either. The movement is a move toward a better world, socially, and in the anthology you see a lot of poems celebrating life or joyously describing aspects of society that are often marginalized and those poems allow you to rethink your preconceived notions" (quoted by Steinhauer). Quarto. Colour frontispiece, black and white illustrations throughout. Original coated paper wrappers, black binder's tape backstrip, front cover illustrated by Molly Crabapple. Edges slightly rubbed, a few faint marks on foreedge and rear wrapper, near-fine. Jillian Steinhauer, "Occupying Poetry With a People's Anthology", Hyperallergic, 2 April 2012, available online.