Signed by the author on the front free endpaper, inscribed to "Antonin Bartusek" (czech poet, translator, art historian, muzeologist), on "August 4, 1964". Softback, 94 pages, very good and nice condition. Associated with the New York School of poets (alongside Frank O’Hara, Kenneth Koch, James Schuyler) Known for its challenging, abstract language and postmodern sensibility The title alludes to the 1789 political event in Revolutionary France, yet the content is largely non-narrative and abstract The Tennis Court Oath is the second full-length poetry collection by John Ashbery, one of the most influential voices of postwar American poetry and a leading figure of the New York School. First published in 1962 by Wesleyan University Press (this 1964 edition is the first trade edition), the book marked a radical departure in style, pushing the boundaries of poetic form, syntax, and coherence. In this groundbreaking work, Ashbery experiments heavily with fragmentation, disjunction, and collage, producing a body of poetry that resists easy interpretation and invites multiple readings. Though initially divisive, the collection has come to be seen as a landmark in avant-garde American literature, foreshadowing the linguistic and conceptual play that would define much of his later work.