Diane di Prima Signed Firsts: A Reference
Diane di Prima (1934–2020) was the most significant woman writer associated with the Beat Generation — a poet, memoirist, publisher, and political radical whose career stretched from the Greenwich Village scene of the late 1950s through her final years in San Francisco. Where the canonical Beats were predominantly male and often aggressively so, di Prima carved out a space for feminist consciousness within the movement, challenging its gender politics while remaining committed to its aesthetics of spontaneity and liberation.
Di Prima as Collector’s Subject
Di Prima was a prolific publisher of her own work through small presses, chapbooks, and mimeograph editions, which means her bibliography is extensive and often bibliographically complex. Many of her early publications appeared in tiny editions from small presses like Totem Press, Poets Press, and her own Eidolon Editions. These early publications are the most collectible and the hardest to find.
She was a generous signer throughout her career, particularly at readings and bookstore events in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her signature is straightforward and legible, often accompanied by a date and sometimes a brief inscription.
Key Titles
- This Kind of Bird Flies Backward (1958) — Her first major collection
- Memoirs of a Beatnik (1969) — Her witty, semi-fictionalized memoir of the Beat scene
- Revolutionary Letters (1971) — Political poems that became countercultural texts
- Loba (1978/1998) — Her epic feminist poem, published in parts over decades
- Recollections of My Life as a Woman (2001) — Memoir
Market Overview
Di Prima collecting has gained momentum since her death in 2020, as her contribution to the Beat Generation and to feminist poetry has been increasingly recognized. Early small-press editions are scarce and command premiums; later commercial editions are affordable. The market reflects a growing scholarly and collecting interest in women Beat writers.
Signed Copy Market Values (Range)
- Early small-press editions (1958–1965): $200–$800
- Commercial first editions: $50–$200
- Later signed collections: $30–$100
- Inscribed copies: Premium of 30–50% over signed-only