RARE first edition of the epochal journal with essays, poems and statements by Thomas Merton, Albert Camus, Gary Snyder, Antonin Artaud, Bertrand Russell, Kay Johnson, Michael McClure, James Mitchell, David Meltzer, Robert Duncan, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, an open letter to JFK and Castro by Norman Mailer, an interview with William Burroughs by Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso, The Surrender Speech by Chief Joseph, Declaration of Rights by Percy Bishop Shelley, an excerpt from Herman Hesse`s `Demian`, and an illustration by Kenneth Patchen and b&w photographs. Published by the great American independent bookstore City Lights, this journal quickly became one of the prototypical statements of the Beat Generation. 300x165mm. 120 pages. Softcover. Cover and spine worn, tattered and stained. Cover corners and edges tattered. Front cover upper corner and rear cover bottom corner chipped. Pen inscription on front cover bottom edge. Front cover bottom part loose from binding. Spine partly partly missing (edges also missing). Pencil writing on contents page upper edge. Several first pages fore edge slightly torn - NO damage to text. Pages dog-eared and browning. [SUMMARY]: This extremely rare first issue of one of the most important American journals of world literature, the arts, and progressive politics, is otherwise in good condition.