Graham's Song, and Warm Instrument

New York: Harold Weston / Florence Anthony Enterprises, 1981. First Edition. Poets David and Lauren Lawrence's second publications, after appearing together in "Living with Mirrors: Two Books of Poetry," in 1979. Laid in is an release notice announcing the two volumes, on a letterhead from Harold Weston / Florence Anthony Enterprises, dated 1982.

Harold Weston, Jr., was a pugilist and top welterweight contender in the late 1970s, and became Madison Square Garden's first black matchmaker in 1981. Together, he and Florence Anthony, a poet and National Book Award winner (Vice, 1999), produced a cable television show and ran a public relations agency, both in New York. Anthony was a press agent for Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali, among others, and eventually published Gladiator, a sports magazine. The announcement states that proceeds from David's book will benefit the Harlem-Dowling Children's Services, and it is presumed Anthony's public relations agency acted as a third party between writers and nonprofit foundations. "Graham's Song" (David Lawrence) is an ode to his son, born in 1979, with a final poem by Denise Graziano. "Warm Instrument" (Lauren Lawrence) is poetry of observation, admiration of the mouth, and smoking cigarettes.

Both volumes Near Fine and unread in illustrated wrappers.

[Book #122671]