ANTHONY HECHT
(1923-2004) American poet, whose work combined a deep interest in form with a passionate desire to confront the horrors of 20th century history, with the Second World War and the Holocaust being recurrent themes in his work. Inscribed and signed booklet, "Struwwelpeter, a Poem by Anthony Hecht", (Northampton, MA: Gehenna Press), 1959, 24pp. 3 1/2"x 4". The poem tells the story of a young boy who refuses to bathe and lets his hair and nails grow long and dirty, and an ogre who kidnaps filthy children and cuts off their ears. The booklet is inscribed on the title page, in black ink: "For Dr. Alfred Kaiser, Anthony Hecht". On the verso of the edition page at the end of the booklet, Hecht has transcribed the first two stanzas of the poem, in black ink:"Villainous boys who will not clean your nails / Attend the history of Struwwelpeter: / Bagged by an Ogre, whose most winning smiles / Teemed with the dentures of an alligator. / Neither would Stuwwelpeter cut his hair, / Till finally he looked like a composer; / His tresses stood erect in a broad flare / Like the bipinnate fronds of the mimosa", after which Hecht again signs his name. The publication is illustrated with four wood block engravings by Leonard Baskin. Fine.