NY, Columbia University Press, 1979. An advance copy, in the form of bound galley sheets, of the first full-length critical study of Ashbery's poetry, written by an author who is himself a poet, art critic and historian. Shapiro had previously edited an anthology of the poets of the New York School , and he has written books on such painters as Jasper Johns and Jim Dine, as well as collaborating with Laurie Anderson on a play performed at The Kitchen, the year after this book was published. Inscribed by Shapiro to collector Burt Britton, longtime head of the Rare Book Room at the Strand Bookstore and the co-founder of Books & Company. Long sheets, 8-1/2" x 14", printed on rectos only and bound with two metal rings. An unusual format; it's likely only a handful of these were produced. Sunning to cardstock covers; else fine. [#019410] SOLD