{"title":"Grateful Dead Literary Rarities — Scholars Caucus","description":"\u003cp\u003eRare, limited-print chapbooks and broadsides from the Grateful Dead Scholars Caucus, including authorized Robert M. Petersen editions. Small print runs, real literary history — grab these while they last. These aren't mass-market reprints; several titles here are out of print entirely.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor the full picture of GD literary history, see our \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/grateful-dead-books\"\u003eGrateful Dead Books\u003c\/a\u003e collection, or shop \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/grateful-dead-official-gift-editions\"\u003eOfficial Gift Editions\u003c\/a\u003e for licensed GD titles built for gifting.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"richard-biffle-studies-in-the-grateful-dead-limited-edition-signed-poster-copy","title":"Grateful Dead Built to Last: 25th Anniversary Book – UK \u0026 US Edition Set","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003eProduced in close cooperation with the Grateful Dead, this beautifully illustrated commemorative book gave a new generation of fans an accessible and thoughtful biography of the band while satisfying longtime listeners hungry for a richly visual reference. Written by Jamie Jenson and published simultaneously by Penguin's UK imprint Fantail and US imprint Plume, the quarto softbound volume runs 96 pages of band history, photographs, and essential context. Relix is delighted to offer a matched set featuring both the UK and US editions — a rare pairing for the serious collector. Very minor cover and spine wear; about near fine. Copies in good condition are increasingly scarce.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDetails\u003c\/strong\u003e: Penguin Books (Fantail and Plume imprints). Quarto, 96 pp. Softbound.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nick Meriwether","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48004280909979,"sku":null,"price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1041\/7172\/files\/jenson-built-to-last-anniversary-album-front-view.jpg?v=1771345991"},{"product_id":"robert-m-petersen-before-memory-first-edition-chapbook-edited-by-nathaniel-r-racine","title":"Robert M. Petersen: Before Memory – First Edition Chapbook, Edited by Nathaniel R. Racine","description":"\u003ch2\u003eFirst edition. First printing. Limited to 125 copies and out of print.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003eAuthorized by Petersen's son Didrik, this extraordinary chapbook offers an intimate window into the creative process of one of the Grateful Dead's most gifted lyricists. Transcribed and excerpted directly from a lost travel notebook kept during a trip to Mexico in late 1974, the poems capture Petersen's impressions, musings, and deeply felt observations of Mexican life with the same lyrical precision that defines his celebrated work for the band. Literary scholar Nathaniel Racine contributes a detailed introduction that contextualizes these poems within Petersen's broader artistic vision — tracing the themes that would surface so powerfully in \"Pride of Cucamonga\" and \"Unbroken Chain.\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003eEssential for any serious collector of Dead-related literature or American poetry.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDetails\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003eFirst edition, first printing. Limited to 125 copies, out of print.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nick Meriwether","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48004289888411,"sku":null,"price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1041\/7172\/files\/Robert-M_-Petersen-Before-Memory-First-Edition-Chapbook-Edited-by-Nathaniel-R_-Racine_544ed3a6-3f38-4bfb-9e97-7bca7b44cb0a.jpg?v=1771868389"},{"product_id":"robert-m-petersen-pecker-poles-rare-authorized-chapbook-grateful-dead-scholars-caucus-2015","title":"Robert M. Petersen: Pecker Poles – Rare Authorized Chapbook (Grateful Dead Scholars Caucus, 2015)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003eCompiled and typed by Petersen himself in 1972 but never printed during his lifetime, Pecker Poles brings together some of his finest and most searching poems, suffused with the naturalist imagery that flows through his beloved lyrics for the Grateful Dead — most notably \"New Potato Caboose\" and \"Unbroken Chain.\" The title draws on a logger's term for commercially worthless second-growth timber; Petersen transforms it into a searing metaphor for the environmental devastation he witnessed in the Pacific Northwest and the broader cultural unraveling of early 1970s America. Authorized by Petersen's son Didrik and produced by the Grateful Dead Scholars Caucus to commemorate the first academic conference paper ever devoted to Petersen's work, this chapbook presents his original typed text alongside prefatory matter by scholar Nicholas G. Meriwether. Grateful Dead Scholars Caucus, 2015. Octavo. Saddle-stapled, 20 pp. Only a handful of copies survive.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDetails:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003eGrateful Dead Scholars Caucus, 2015. Octavo. Saddle-stapled, 20 pp.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nick Meriwether","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48004292444315,"sku":null,"price":50.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1041\/7172\/files\/peterson-pecker-poles-front-view_ca803bff-654d-4439-9098-9e89f657a742.jpg?v=1771344595"},{"product_id":"robert-m-petersen-unbroken-chain-authorized-commemorative-broadside","title":"Robert M. Petersen's \"Unbroken Chain\" – Authorized Commemorative Broadside","description":"\u003ch2 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eLimited edition of 100. Printed for the Seventeenth Grateful Dead Scholars Caucus in Albuquerque, NM, \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eFebruary 10–12, 2016.\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eProduced with the authorization of Ice Nine Publishing and the Petersen estate, this broadside was printed by the Grateful Dead Archive at UC Santa Cruz in honor of the Bobby Petersen Panel at the Seventeenth Grateful Dead Scholars Caucus, the first academic conference paper ever devoted to his work. It is a document with serious institutional provenance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eThe lyric it presents needs no introduction. \"Unbroken Chain\" is Petersen's masterwork, a sweeping philosophical meditation on human connection that has earned a permanent place in the Deadhead canon. Recorded for \u003cem\u003eFrom the Mars Hotel\u003c\/em\u003e in 1974, it became the stuff of legend when it finally debuted live in 1995 to a room that didn't know what hit them. Garcia was gone months later. The song was performed only a handful of times.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eTo own this broadside is to hold all of that at once: Petersen's literary genius, the Scholars Caucus that finally gave it its due, and the living tradition of a band that never stops giving back.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\"\u003eBroadside, 8.5 x 14 in.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nick Meriwether","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48004304601243,"sku":null,"price":125.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1041\/7172\/files\/petersen-unbroken-chain-front-view.jpg?v=1773433427"},{"product_id":"robert-m-petersen-far-away-radios-second-printing-chapbook-grateful-dead-productions","title":"Far Away Radios by Robert Petersen \u0026 Cover by Stanley Mouse (Second Printing, Softcover)","description":"\u003ch2\u003eThe Book Dead Collectors Can't Find\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRobert M. \"Bobby\" Petersen\u003c\/strong\u003e's first published chapbook, \u003cstrong\u003eFar Away Radios\u003c\/strong\u003e, holds a singular place in the literature surrounding the Grateful Dead. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eCopies of the first printing are essentially unheard of; copies of this second printing are nearly as scarce. Relix is honored to offer the final copies.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003eA close friend of \u003cstrong\u003ePhil Lesh\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eAlan Trist\u003c\/strong\u003e, Petersen was one of the earliest and most steadfast champions of the band's vision, and the most seriously regarded poet in the Dead's orbit, a living link to the older San Francisco Bay Area poetry tradition. This chapbook contains two of his most deeply felt elegies: \"For Janis,\" a tribute to \u003cstrong\u003eJanis Joplin\u003c\/strong\u003e, and \"He Was A Friend of Mine,\" a farewell to Pigpen. It also points to the lyrics that would define his legacy: \"New Potato Caboose,\" \"Pride of Cucamonga,\" \"Unbroken Chain,\" and his final, unrecorded lyric, \"Revolutionary Hamstrung Blues,\" performed only once. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003eMoved were the Dead by Petersen's work, which \u003cstrong\u003eGrateful Dead Productions\u003c\/strong\u003e privately financed for this second printing as a tribute to their longtime friend. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDetails\u003c\/strong\u003e: \u003cspan data-sheets-root=\"1\"\u003eChapbook. Softbound. Octavo, 31 pp., unnumbered. 2nd printing. \u003cstrong\u003eCover by Stanley Mouse.\u003c\/strong\u003e Privately published, financed by Grateful Dead Productions. Fine condition; some minor spotting to front flyleaves, as is common with this edition.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nick Meriwether","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48004535025819,"sku":null,"price":119.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1041\/7172\/files\/IMG_2477copy.jpg?v=1771011209"}],"url":"https:\/\/relix.shop\/collections\/grateful-dead-literary-rarities-scholars-caucus.oembed","provider":"relix.shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}