THE ESSENTIAL GESTURE: WRITING, POLITICS & PLACES

New York City, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1988. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1988. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 357 pages. Retrospective collection of writings. One of the most valuable books of the 20th century. The first appearance of the title in the United States. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Nadine Gordmier's "The Essential Gesture: Writings, Politics & Places". The writer-as-aesthete/the writer-as-activist par excellence. "An anthology of writings by one of South Africa's most respected and beloved writers. Illustrates the relationship between outer and inner change for the writer of conscience in South Africa. From the relative optimism of the 1950's to Sharpeville and the banning of the ANC to the challenges of the Black Consciousness Movement in the 1970's and the 'interregnum' of the 1980's, Gordimer rigorously analyzes political events. Her stand on censorship is unequivocal and her commitment to the community of writers - black and white - is forthright" (Publisher's blurb) . One of Gordimer's lasting contributions to contemporary literature is her seamless fusion of political subject matter (of the most urgent kind) with beautiful prose (of the most elegant kind) . Not an ideologue but a committed activist, Gordimer is an aesthete who values The Beautiful in an age that has relentlessly undermined the idea because it is the most subversive one of all. "Her magnificent epic writing has been of very great benefit to humanity" (Nobel Prize Citation) . An absolute "must-have" title for Nadine Gordimer collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed and dated in black pen on the title page by the author: "Nadine Gordimer 1991". It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a late-modern classic. This is one of few such signed and dated copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing (American) still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. Winner of the Booker Prize in 1974 for "The Conservationist". Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991. One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER NADINE GORDIMER TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0394573978.