{"id":1804,"date":"2017-05-17T04:32:23","date_gmt":"2017-05-17T04:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/arielsheen.com\/?p=1804"},"modified":"2017-11-02T22:56:55","modified_gmt":"2017-11-02T22:56:55","slug":"review-of-a-literate-passion-letters-of-anais-nin-and-henry-miller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2017\/05\/17\/review-of-a-literate-passion-letters-of-anais-nin-and-henry-miller\/","title":{"rendered":"Review of &#8220;A Literate Passion: Letters of Anais Nin and Henry Miller&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-version=\"7\">\n<div style=\"padding: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;\"><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;\"><a style=\"color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BSjbGNeBPhk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Really excited to spend my weekend diving into this. Henry Miller and Ana\u00efs Nin were both formative writers for a number of life decisions made in my early 20s and I&#8217;m curious to peek deeper in their lives and see how I understand their dynamic now. #bookstagram<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\">A post shared by Ariel Voyager (@arielvoyager) on <time style=\"font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;\" datetime=\"2017-04-06T18:11:32+00:00\">Apr 6, 2017 at 11:11am PDT<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async defer src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>On the inside cover of the used copy of <a href=\"http:\/\/amzn.to\/2pUCRQu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A Literate Passion: Letters of Anais Nin and Henry Miller 1932-1953<\/a> is an inscription that has been covered over with black permanent marker. Dated December 1987, it reads<\/p>\n<p>Dear Thom,<br \/>\nIn some ways we will always be together.<br \/>\nLove,<br \/>\nS.<\/p>\n<p>Those familiar with the life and works of Anais Nin and Henry Miller would no doubt not be surprised by such a sentimental dedication being written into its pages, and made an amusing start to my reading this 395 page edited selection of these two literary luminaries letters. I chose to read these letters, which range in length from 1\/2 to 33 pages, following a reflection on a discussion.<\/p>\n<p>As you can see from the below photo from my library\u2026<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-version=\"7\">\n<div style=\"padding: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;\"><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;\"><a style=\"color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/-H6HFnuufJ\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Truestory: I #binge #books #henrymiller #litlife<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\">A post shared by Ariel Voyager (@arielvoyager) on <time style=\"font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;\" datetime=\"2015-11-15T23:15:55+00:00\">Nov 15, 2015 at 3:15pm PST<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async defer src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve a long history of affection for Miller\u2019s autobiographical oevre. Now that I\u2019ve read enough of Art and Artist by Otto Rank, a psychologist who actually plays an short but important role both as an inspirer to both and lover of Nin\u2019s, to know the word I\u2019d even go so far as to say that he was, in Rank\u2019s terms, the artist after which I\u2019d apprenticed myself.<\/p>\n<p>Missing from the picture are the journals of Nin\u2019s that I\u2019ve read from the same period when she was first introduced to Miller. I\u2019d first read two of her multi-volume journals while in Copenhagen, Denmark, occupying time as rain made the wide city unwelcoming. My host, a family friend, had just smoked some buds from Christiania, put on some chaotic but oddly calming jazz music while writing a paper on import tariffs effects on the fishing industry of the country and then suggested I occupy myself with what was on his shelf since he had no television. I perused it, picked up her, and began literary journey of my own as the recordings of her inner life were so compelling and the man about which she felt so ecstatic about so intriguing that after that bingereading I knew I had to have more.<\/p>\n<p>In the letters collected here they are at first merely two people with deep passions to be recognized as literary artists. The share the writings that they\u2019ve been working on \u2013 in Miller\u2019s case Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn while in Nin\u2019s it was her early childhood journals \u2013 and give each other reams upon reams of feedback, discuss art, and a variety of topics from the banal to the esoteric. A note in the introduction, in fact, points out that the roughly 400 page collection is but a partial fragment as a number of the notes \u2013 sometimes two or three a day \u2013 were lost and that a sizeable amount of material was excluded so as to make this collection a \u201cbest of\u201d. Anyways.\u00a0Though both were married, Miller and Nin soon became lovers after meeting. Nin also explores lesbianism with Miller&#8217;s\u00a0wife, June. Anais\u2019 husband, well he&#8217;s oblivious to it all. A banker, he leaves for a short period and this gives the two of them a few weeks together. The time that they share during this brief affair become grist for more and a growing, profound appreciation for each other. Since Miller is too poor to afford to keep a home with Nin as he&#8217;s unwilling to take on non-literary work he is not able to ever &#8220;set them up&#8221; as he so wishes.\u00a0Amusingly enough\u00a0in fact, Miler\u00a0relies on Hugh for money to live, though not directly but by that which is given to him \u00a0by Nin. Here, for example, is one of the many delightful passages that Miller writes:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Don\u2019t expect me to be sane anymore. Don\u2019t let\u2019s be sensible. It was a marriage at Louveciennes \u2013 you can\u2019t dispute it. I came away with pieces of you sticking to me; I am walking about, swimming, in an ocean of blood, your Andalusian blood, distilled and poisonous. Every thing I do and say related back to that\u2026 I say this is like a wild dream \u2013 but it is this dream I want to realize.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>It\u2019s not just as human expressions of love and longing that makes the collection pleasurable. Alongside the star-crossed love narrative are the reflections of two genius writers that struggle to find markets for their works. My book is peppered with underlines to mark great turns of phrase and insights into the human condition. No surprise given that this was a period when both were each producing significant works. One of those significant works, in fact, I learned about for the first time while reading this book. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.penguin.co.uk\/books\/280167\/the-world-of-sex\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The World of Sex<\/a> is a Penguin Modern Classic that despite having read all of those books from New Dimensions and Grove Press that I\u2019d never heard of.<\/p>\n<p>Those familiar with Henry literary work will be pleased to find a number of the kaleidoscopic collisions of thoughts in the form of beautiful flourishes of phrase and insight characteristic of Miller at his creative height.<\/p>\n<p>The latter third of the book the romance has ceased to be described. Following a series of events \u2013 which I describe in the close their letters and lives turn from lovers to an exemplar friendship. Such a friendship does not come easy, however.\u00a0A number of letters contains long and heart-rending accusations and cold, but insightful recriminations flow back and forth. The romantic love subtext fades from their exchanges, but they still clearly love each other.<\/p>\n<p>Henry\u2019s final break with Nin comes over her haven taken on Rank as a lover. While there is no direct statement of this by Henry, the pattern of behavior that he follows for a while hints at his pain. Had he the courage to admit the source of his pain, to overcome it and thus not keep distant from her is an interesting exercise in \u201cwhat if\u201d. While they both found professional acclaim and a financial stability form their work \u2013 I can\u2019t but help wonder \u2013 a la La La Land\u2019s lovely and yet heart-rending ending \u2013 whether or not they would have found greater happiness had pride not prevented it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1806\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2017\/05\/17\/review-of-a-literate-passion-letters-of-anais-nin-and-henry-miller\/henrymiller-xxlarge_trans_nvbqzqnjv4bqeo_i_u9apj8ruoebjoaht0k9u7hhrjvuo-zlengruma\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/henrymiller-xxlarge_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqeo_i_u9APj8RuoebjoAHt0k9u7HhRJvuo-ZLenGRumA.jpg?fit=1500%2C937&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1500,937\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"henrymiller\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/henrymiller-xxlarge_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqeo_i_u9APj8RuoebjoAHt0k9u7HhRJvuo-ZLenGRumA.jpg?fit=300%2C187&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/henrymiller-xxlarge_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqeo_i_u9APj8RuoebjoAHt0k9u7HhRJvuo-ZLenGRumA.jpg?fit=840%2C525&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1806\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/henrymiller-xxlarge_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqeo_i_u9APj8RuoebjoAHt0k9u7HhRJvuo-ZLenGRumA.jpg?resize=300%2C187&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"187\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/henrymiller-xxlarge_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqeo_i_u9APj8RuoebjoAHt0k9u7HhRJvuo-ZLenGRumA.jpg?resize=300%2C187&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/henrymiller-xxlarge_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqeo_i_u9APj8RuoebjoAHt0k9u7HhRJvuo-ZLenGRumA.jpg?resize=768%2C480&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/henrymiller-xxlarge_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqeo_i_u9APj8RuoebjoAHt0k9u7HhRJvuo-ZLenGRumA.jpg?resize=1024%2C640&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/henrymiller-xxlarge_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqeo_i_u9APj8RuoebjoAHt0k9u7HhRJvuo-ZLenGRumA.jpg?resize=1200%2C750&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/henrymiller-xxlarge_trans_NvBQzQNjv4Bqeo_i_u9APj8RuoebjoAHt0k9u7HhRJvuo-ZLenGRumA.jpg?w=1500&amp;ssl=1 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\" \/> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1807\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2017\/05\/17\/review-of-a-literate-passion-letters-of-anais-nin-and-henry-miller\/image-axd_1\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/image.axd_1.jpeg?fit=320%2C427&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"320,427\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Anais Nin\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/image.axd_1.jpeg?fit=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/image.axd_1.jpeg?fit=320%2C427&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1807\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/image.axd_1.jpeg?resize=225%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/image.axd_1.jpeg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arielsheen.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/image.axd_1.jpeg?w=320&amp;ssl=1 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 85vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Really excited to spend my weekend diving into this. Henry Miller and Ana\u00efs Nin were both formative writers for a number of life decisions made in my early 20s and I&#8217;m curious to peek deeper in their lives and see how I understand their dynamic now. #bookstagram A post shared by Ariel Voyager (@arielvoyager) on &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2017\/05\/17\/review-of-a-literate-passion-letters-of-anais-nin-and-henry-miller\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Review of &#8220;A Literate Passion: Letters of Anais Nin and Henry Miller&#8221;&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,86],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-review","category-creative-process"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8e7kf-t6","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1804"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2309,"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1804\/revisions\/2309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}