TRAIN RIDE by Ted Berrigan

Vehicle Editions, 1971, First edition of 1500 copies, Unpaginated, 5" X 7", Softcover

Very good

"TRAIN RIDE, subtitled "February 18th, 1971: for Joe" is a long poem in the tradition of Herodotus, Goethe, Laurence Sterne, Agatha Christie, & Blaise Cendrars--a poem of the travails & pleasures of travel, truly of the late 20th century in that its verbal events are more internal than external: 'Out the Window / is / Out to Lunch!!'--one of the results of the developments of industrial capitalism initiated by steam engine and rail-way...Thus we have a great deal of hypothetical & remembered fucking, money, friendship--'amistad'--and, indeed throughout, witty & precise meditation on the act of writing itself. The persona that emerges is the 'poet in the state of surprise' (Apollinaire), a saintly yet human figure, addressing us with wonderful Peruvian frankness: 'I'd be a terrific Senator / because I'd love it' ... The 'Our Friends' section is a marvelous catalog of prominence... One could go on cataloging the delights of the ride: one would be wiser to simply urge all who can run & read to take it, with Ted Berrigan, a Great Companion."--Anselm Hollo

Cover illustration by Joe Brainard