THE TAROT SUITE by THORMANN, Janet - (1964)

San Francisco: White Rabbit Press, 1964. First edition. 8vo, unpaginated, saddle-stapled wraps. A collection of poems based on the major arcana, each of which is printed over a yellow drawing of the card in question. The book was issued as a supplement to the fifth issue of Open Space , the little magazine that was the main organ of the poets surrounding Gino & Carlos Bar, which included Jack Spicer, Stan Persky, and Graham Mackintosh, the printer of this work. A couple of decades after this book was published, the poet married the printer. Besides being a gorgeously written and designed book in its own right, it is one of the most overt links between the San Francisco Renaissance and the occult. The book includes a poem based upon the Grail, with a note stating "The Grail is not found in the deck." The accompanying illustration is of the Ace of Cups. The Grail legend was of course an important influence on Spicer. A very good example with some foxing to the wraps.