Trial Poems (Signed twice, with an original drawing by Lewis)
Boston: Beacon Press, (1970). Drawings. Hardcover. Folio. Not paginated (16 leaves). Very good in a worn dust jacket. Book has a mild bump at heel of spine. Jacket is faded overall, has a 1" chip at head of spine, and a few shallow chips at top edges.
Reproduces in facsimile the prison art and poetry of these two Vietnam War protesters. Both Berrigan and Thomas were members of the "Catonsville Nine," a group of Catholic anti-war activists who broke into the U.S. Selective Service Branch 33 in Catonsville, Maryland in May of 1968. They emptied file cabinets of hundreds of draft records, which they carried to the parking lot and burned with homemade napalm. This event radicalized the anti-war movement in America, shifting it from peaceful, non-violent protest to physically attacking the machinery of war.
While in prison awaiting Federal trial, Lewis managed to acquire a few sheets of sketch paper. He created these paintings using instant coffee and cocoa, and then Berrigan wrote his 11 poems on them using pens shaped from popsicle sticks. They had a small bottle of India ink which they augmented with ground cigarette ashes and water.
This copy is signed by Tom Lewis on the title page, and has a further inscription and an original drawing signed by him on the front free endpaper.
Item #659
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