Where can I find out-of-print books by David Lerner?
I assume you’re not talking about the David Lerner who has written numerous studies of groundwater contamination in England. Or the David Lerner who wrote the page-turner Molecular Analysis of the Structure and Function of Two Chitin-binding Proteins. Let me know if you are. More likely, you are looking for the David Lerner whose books include Pray Like the Hunted, I Want a New Gun: Poems, 1987-1988, and (apparently) Why Rimbaud Went to Africa, all of which were published between 1988 and 1992 by Zeitgeist Press in Oakland, CA. I would contact the publisher (address in 2002 Books-in-Print: Zeitgeist Press, 1630 University Ave., No. 34 Berkeley CA USA 94703), though with something with such a short run you may be out of luck. Copies of Pray Like the Hunted and I Want a New Gun can only be found in one library apiece (SUNY-Buffalo and NYU, respectively). Miguel is right though. Your best bet may be to contact a rare-books dealer that specializes in poetry, preferably in the Bay Area, if
Drezdn: There’s a common misconception that everything’s online these days – it isn’t. Specially books. Try the specialist firms that advertise in the TLS or any other literary journal. The out-of-print circuit is largely offline and depends on dealer networks, printed catalogues not on the web, auction records, etc. If it were easy, these dedicated firms wouldn’t exist. Any reasonably good search firm should be able to rapidly locate any book you’re looking for, for a small fee. This one looks OK, though I’ve never used it. I found this online guide quite useful. But, as I say, rely on print and experienced searchers if you really want to get your man. Good luck!
