DIVINE DAYS

(Chicago): Another Chicago Press, 1992. Fine in fine jacket.. Inscribed first edition of the famously rare Black Modernist masterpiece. Forrest's career began at Random House under the patronage of Toni Morrison when she was an editor there; after she left, Forrest turned to a local Chicago press to publish his "Black ULYSSES" (Sinykin, 184). Set in Chicago during a week in 1966, DIVINE DAYS follows an ambitious playwright as he navigates the realities of life as an artist. Upon its reissue in 2023, Kenneth W. Warren commented, "It may seem outrageous to say of a novel of more than 1,100 pages, but reading it makes you want immediately to reread it."

This first edition features rear cover blurbs from Saul Bellow, Ralph Ellison, and Toni Morrison and is now famous for its rarity. As Dan Sinykin recounts: "almost immediately [the press's] distributor went bankrupt and its warehouse sustained a fire that destroyed five hundred copies from the full run of 1,500. It basically became impossible to find a copy." Inscribed copies are even more uncommon. 9'' x 6''. Original grey cloth lettered in metallic blue. In original unclipped ($32.50) color pictorial dust jacket. 1138 pages. Inscribed by Forrest in black ink to title page: "Dear ____, it is a / pleasure to see you again / and recall the old days at / JIMMY'S / Leon Forrest." Only light signs of use. Firm. (Inventory #: 53739)