No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. New York: Knopf, 2005.

Cormac McCarthy is considered by many to be our genius of American literature. He is also one of the most reclusive and humble authors of our time. Born in Rhode Island in 1933, McCarthy grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, and set his first four novels in the South. McCarthy lived on the edge of poverty for years and his early work sold poorly. When asked to speak for compensation, he declined saying that everything he had to say was on the page. In 1981, a MacArthur Fellowship allowed McCarthy to buy a home in El Paso, Texas. In that southwest landscape he began to write Blood Meridian (1985) and All the Pretty Horses (1992 National Book Award Winner).

The 2000s brought Cormac McCarthy out into the spotlight. Following the Pulitzer Prize win for The Road in 2006, No Country for Old Men was made into an Academy award­winning film of the same name by the Coen brothers in 2007. To everyone’s surprise, McCarthy accepted Oprah Winfrey’s invitation for a television interview in 2007 after she selected The Road for her book club. At this point, McCarthy fans were not just a select number of literary readers. The collectibility of his books had also increased. But how do you collect an author who rarely does book signings?

If Cormac McCarthy does sign a book at a signing, he typically likes to personally inscribe the book to the recipient. While in many cases this may satisfy the recipient, a collector will desire a simple signature for long term value. Publishers do issue signed books and this is about the only way to get a signed Cormac McCarthy book.

In 2005, Knopf issued No Country for Old Men to booksellers in a signed hardback edition on a first come, first serve basis. The book is signed by McCarthy on a blank tipped­in page. This means that the author received the blank sheets to sign and then the publisher bound the signed page into the book.

Later, B. E. Trice Publishing out of New Orleans used some of the signed sheets from Knopf to complete two of the most beautiful limited editions in contemporary literature: a limited edition of 325 copies in 1⁄4 leather and marbled boards, slip cased, and a deluxe limited edition of 75 copies 3⁄4 leather, marbled boards, with raised spine hubs, slip cased.

Cormac McCarthy, now 81­ years ­old, still maintains his privacy and accepts few request for public appearances, following his own advice that it’s better to be writing than to be talking about writing.

Original to the Clarion-Ledger 

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“Neighborhood: An Early Fragment of Ray” by Barry Hannah. Tuscaloosa, AL: Gorgas Oak Press, 1981.
Born in Meridian, Mississippi in 1942, Barry Hannah grew up in Clinton, Mississippi. After changing his college major early on from pre­med to English, he set his sights on writing and earned his Bachelor’s at Mississippi College. While studying for his Masters of Fine Arts at the University of Arkansas, Hannah developed the surreal and dark humor he is known for in his novels and short stories. Nominated for the National Book Award for “Geronimo Rex” (1972) and also nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for “High Lonesome” (1996), Hannah gained national acclaim. Over his long career, he became a popular creative writing mentor among students, holding teaching positions at the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, Sewanee, the University of Alabama, and the University of Mississippi, among others.

While Hannah was teaching at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, he allowed the Gorgas Oak Press of the Graduate School of Library Services of the University of Alabama to design and print the book format for an early fragment of “Ray” called “Neighborhood.” The graduate students handcrafted a striking chapbook of handmade paper, hand-pressed with custom­ made ink, featuring the original interior etchings of Jill Valentine, and exterior wrapper drawings by Bruce Dupree. The print run was limited to 65 copies. The chapbook was not issued signed and signed copies are scarce today. This copy of “Neighborhood” is signed on the title page.

This fragment of “Ray” also differs from the complete version of “Ray” published by Knopf in 1980 as pages 12-­26. The publication of Gorgas Oak’s “Neighborhood” provides a rare opportunity to compare an early draft of a literary text with its final form.

Original to the Clarion-Ledger

To see more titles by Barry Hannah, click here.