Francis Carey Slater (7 titles + Handwritten Letter by the Poet)

Seven titles by Francis Carey Slater + Handwritten Letter by the poet:

1. The Trek - A Poem. Macmillan, London, 1938. First Edition. pp. viii + 156. End papers foxed, otherwise very good. Comes with (i) Author's Compliment Slip, (ii) a review of The New Centenary Book of S.A. Verse which appeared in the Cape Times on 23 June, 1945, and, (c) a Handwritten Letter by him to 'Livingstone' in Canada, dated 30.6.45, Wynberg. In the letter he refers to Stalin as a "monument of common sense". He also mentions The New Centenary Book of S.A. Verse and elaborates on misprints in the book and about his own verse "I have for some years past been selecting and reviewing my verse (written during the last fifty years) with a view to publishing in one volume...". (see 6).
2. Calls Across the Sea; William Blackwood & Sons Ltd, Edinburgh and London, 1917, pp. (x) + 53 + 6, foxing to end papers and occasionally elsewhere, inscription in ink on flep, good.
3. The Centenary Book of South African Verse 1820 to 1925, chosen and arranged by Francis Carey Slater; Longmans, Green and Co, London, 1925. pp. xxiii + 238. Inscription in ink on flep, a very good copy in a fair dj.
4. Dark Folk and other Poems; William Blackwood & Sons Ltd, Edinburgh and London, 1935, xii + 85, heavy foxing on title page and rear loose end paper, inscription in ink on flep, slight discoloration to spine, good.
5. The New Centenary Book of South African Verse; Longmans, Green and Co, London, 1946, Reprint, pp. xxi + 230, foxing to end papers, spine discoloring, a good copy.
6. Selected Poems of Francis Carey Slater, biographical introduction by R.C.K. Ensor; London, Oxford University Press, 1947, vii + 182. with author's compliments slip, inscriptions in ink on first end papers, occasional light foxing, otherwise good.
7. The Collected Poems of Francis Carey Slater, with a Preface by Roy Campbell; William Blackwood & Sons Ltd, Edinburgh and London, 1957, xii + 314, inscription on flep, a very good copy in a good dj. "Although largely neglected by contemporary scholarship, the poetry of Francis Carey Slater (1876-1958) deserves attention as a significant attempt to 'Africanise' South African English poetic idiom. ...in his poetry (he), employed an idiom that presents itself as being truly indigenous. Slater's significance is suggested by what Roy Campbell and Anthony Delius, his younger contemporaries, have said about his poetic influence. Both acknowledge that he played a 'pioneering' role in the creation of a truly indegenous English poetry.

Campbell maintains that Slater 'acclimatised English poetry to these shores as the forerunner and pioneer of us all". (English Africa. Vol. 19, No. 2 (Oct, 1992), pp. 1-13, Dirk Klopper, Rhodes University).