Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell (February 11, 1903 – January 14, 1977; , ) was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and

erotica Erotica is literature or art that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erotic art may use a ...

. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the daughter of the composer

Joaquín Nin Joaquín Nin y Castellanos (29 September 1879, Havana – 24 October 1949, Havana) was a Cuban pianist and composer. Nin was the father of Anaïs Nin. Biography He was son of the Catalan writer Joaquin Nin Tudó and Àngela Castellanos Perdom ...

and the classically trained singer Rosa Culmell. Nin spent her early years in Spain and Cuba, about sixteen years in Paris (1924–1940), and the remaining half of her life in the United States, where she became an established author. Nin wrote journals prolifically from age eleven until her death. Her journals, many of which were published during her lifetime, detail her private thoughts and personal relationships. Her journals also describe her marriages to

Hugh Parker Guiler Hugh Parker Guiler (February 15, 1898 – January 7, 1985), also known as Ian Hugo, was Anaïs Nin's husband from 1923 until her death in 1977, and a skilled engraver and filmmaker in his own right. Biography Guiler was born in Boston, Massachus ...

and

Rupert Pole Rupert Pole (February 18, 1919 – July 15, 2006) was an American actor and the husband of author Anaïs Nin, as well as her literary executor. Early life and education Pole was born in Los Angeles. His father, Reginald, was a highly regarded S ...

, in addition to her numerous affairs, including those with psychoanalyst

Otto Rank Otto Rank (; ; né Rosenfeld; 22 April 1884 – 31 October 1939) was an Austrian psychoanalyst, writer, and philosopher. Born in Vienna, he was one of Sigmund Freud's closest colleagues for 20 years, a prolific writer on psychoanalytic themes, ...

and writer

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...

, both of whom profoundly influenced Nin and her writing. In addition to her journals, Nin wrote several novels, critical studies, essays, short stories, and volumes of

. Much of her work, including the collections of erotica ''

Delta of Venus ''Delta of Venus'' is a book of fifteen short stories by Anaïs Nin published posthumously in 1977—though largely written in the 1940s as erotica for a private collector. In 1994 a film inspired by the book was directed by Zalman King. Bac ...

'' and '' Little Birds'', was published posthumously amid renewed critical interest in her life and work. Nin spent her later life in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, California, where she died of

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...

in 1977. She was a finalist for the

Neustadt International Prize for Literature The Neustadt International Prize for Literature is a biennial award for literature sponsored by the University of Oklahoma and its international literary publication, ''World Literature Today''. It is considered one of the more prestigious inte ...

in 1976.

Early life

Anaïs Nin was born in

Neuilly Neuilly (, ) is a common place name in France, deriving from the male given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as we ...

, France, to

, a Cuban pianist and composer of

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

descent, and Rosa Culmell, a classically trained Cuban singer of French descent. Her father's grandfather had fled France during the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

, going first to

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...

, then

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, and finally to Cuba where he helped build that country's first railway. Nin was raised a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

but left the church when she was 16 years old. She spent her childhood and early life in Europe. Her parents separated when she was two; her mother then moved Anaïs and her two brothers, Thorvald Nin and

Joaquín Nin-Culmell Joaquín María Nin-Culmell (5 September 190814 January 2004) was a Cuban-Spanish composer, internationally known concert pianist, and emeritus professor of music at the University of California, Berkeley. Early life Joaquín Nin-Culmell was born ...

, to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, and then to New York City, where she attended high school. Nin would drop out of high school in 1919 at age sixteen, and according to her diaries, ''Volume One, 1931–1934'', later began working as an artist's model. After being in the United States for several years, Nin had forgotten how to speak Spanish, but retained her French and became fluent in English. On March 3, 1923, in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Cuba, Nin married her first husband,

(1898–1985), a banker and artist, later known as "Ian Hugo" when he became a maker of

experimental film Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...

s in the late 1940s. The couple moved to Paris the following year, where Guiler pursued his banking career and Nin began to pursue her interest in writing; in her diaries she also mentions having trained as a

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

dancer in Paris in the mid-to-late 1920s with Francisco Miralles Arnau. Her first published work was a critical 1932 evaluation of

D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

called '' D. H. Lawrence: An Unprofessional Study'', which she wrote in sixteen days. Nin became profoundly interested in

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...

and would study it extensively, first with

René Allendy René Félix Allendy (; 19 February 1889 – 12 July 1942) was a French psychoanalyst and homeopath. Life He contracted pneumonia at three years and was a sickly child, afflicted with diphtheria and other serious ailments. After successfully c ...

in 1932 and then with

. Both men eventually became her lovers, as she recounts in her ''Journal''. On her second visit to Rank, Nin reflects on her desire to be reborn as a woman and artist. Rank, she observes, helped her move back and forth between what she could verbalize in her journals and what remained unarticulated. She discovered the quality and depth of her feelings in the wordless transitions between what she could say and what she could not say. "As he talked, I thought of my difficulties with writing, my struggles to articulate feelings not easily expressed. Of my struggles to find a language for intuition, feeling, instincts which are, in themselves, elusive, subtle, and wordless." In the late summer of 1939, when residents from overseas were urged to leave France due to the approaching war, Nin left Paris and returned to New York City with her husband (Guiler, who was, according to his own wishes, edited out of the diaries published during Nin's lifetime; his role in her life is therefore difficult to gauge). During the war, Nin sent her books to Frances Steloff of the

Gotham Book Mart The Gotham Book Mart was a famous Midtown Manhattan bookstore and cultural landmark that operated from 1920 to 2007. The business was located first in a small basement space on West 45th Street near the Theater District, then moved to 51 West 47 ...

in New York for safekeeping. In New York, Anaïs rejoined Otto Rank, who had previously moved there, and moved into his apartment. She actually began to act as a psychoanalyst herself, seeing patients in the room next to Rank's. She quit after several months, however, stating: "I found that I wasn't good because I wasn't objective. I was haunted by my patients. I wanted to intercede." It was in New York that she met the Japanese-American modernist photographer

Soichi Sunami Soichi Sunami (角南壮一, given name translating as "magnificent first son," and family name translating as "south corner"; 1885–1971) was a modernist photographer, influenced by the pictorialist movement, and best known for his portraits ...

, who went on to photograph her for many of her books.

Literary career

Journals

Nin's most studied works are her diaries or journals, which she began writing in her adolescence. The published journals, which span several decades from 1933 onward, provide a deeply explorative insight into her personal life and relationships. Nin was acquainted, often quite intimately, with a number of prominent authors, artists,

psychoanalysts PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might ...

, and other figures, and wrote of them often, especially Otto Rank. Moreover, as a female author describing a primarily masculine constellation of celebrities, Nin's journals have acquired importance as a counterbalancing perspective. She initially wrote in French and did not begin to write in English until she was seventeen. Nin felt that French was the language of her heart, Spanish was the language of her ancestors, and English was the language of her intellect. The writing in her diaries is explicitly trilingual; she uses whichever language best expresses her thought. In the third volume of her unexpurgated journal, ''Incest'', she wrote about her father candidly and graphically (207–15), detailing her adult sexual relationship with him. Previously unpublished works are coming to light in ''A Café in Space, the Anaïs Nin Literary Journal'', which includes "Anaïs Nin and Joaquín Nin y Castellanos: Prelude to a SymphonyLetters between a father and daughter". So far sixteen volumes of her journals have been published. All but the last five of her adult journals are in expurgated form.

Erotic writings

Nin is hailed by many critics as one of the finest writers of female erotica. She was one of the first women known to explore fully the realm of erotic writing, and certainly the first prominent woman in the modern West known to write erotica. Before her, erotica acknowledged to be written by women was rare, with a few notable exceptions, such as the work of

Kate Chopin Kate Chopin (, also ; born Katherine O'Flaherty; February 8, 1850 – August 22, 1904) was an American author of short stories and novels based in Louisiana. She is considered by scholars to have been a forerunner of American 20th-century femini ...

. Nin often cited authors

Djuna Barnes Djuna Barnes (, June 12, 1892 – June 18, 1982) was an American artist, illustrator, journalist, and writer who is perhaps best known for her novel ''Nightwood'' (1936), a cult classic of lesbian fiction and an important work of modernist litera ...

and

as inspirations, and she states in ''Volume One'' of her diaries that she drew inspiration from

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...

André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (in 1947). Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the Symbolism (arts), symbolist movement, to the advent o ...

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...

Paul Valéry Ambroise Paul Toussaint Jules Valéry (; 30 October 1871 – 20 July 1945) was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. In addition to his poetry and fiction (drama and dialogues), his interests included aphorisms on art, history, letters, mus ...

, and

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he starte ...

. According to ''Volume One'' of her diaries, ''1931–1934'', published in 1966, Nin first came across erotica when she returned to Paris with her husband, mother and two brothers in her late teens. They rented the apartment of an American man who was away for the summer, and Nin came across a number of French paperbacks: "One by one, I read these books, which were completely new to me. I had never read erotic literature in America... They overwhelmed me. I was innocent before I read them, but by the time I had read them all, there was nothing I did not know about sexual exploits... I had my degree in erotic lore." Faced with a desperate need for money, Nin,

and some of their friends began in the 1940s to write erotic and pornographic narratives for an anonymous "collector" for a dollar a page, somewhat as a joke. (It is not clear whether Miller actually wrote these stories or merely allowed his name to be used.) Nin considered the characters in her erotica to be extreme caricatures and never intended the work to be published, but changed her mind in the early 1970s and allowed them to be published as ''

'' and '' Little Birds''. In 2016, a previously undiscovered collection of erotica, ''

Auletris ''Auletris'' is a collection of erotic short stories by Anaïs Nin Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell (February 11, 1903 – January 14, 1977; , ) was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of shor ...

'', was published for the first time. Nin was a friend, and in some cases lover, of many literary figures, including Miller,

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...

Antonin Artaud Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artist, essayist, actor and theatre director. He is widely recognized as a major figure of the E ...

Edmund Wilson Edmund Wilson Jr. (May 8, 1895 – June 12, 1972) was an American writer and literary critic who explored Freudian and Marxist themes. He influenced many American authors, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, whose unfinished work he edited for publi ...

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and ...

, James Agee,

James Leo Herlihy James Leo Herlihy (; February 27, 1927 – October 21, 1993) was an American novelist, playwright and actor. Herlihy is known for his novels ''Midnight Cowboy'' and '' All Fall Down'', and his play ''Blue Denim'', all of which were adapted ...

, and

Lawrence Durrell Lawrence George Durrell (; 27 February 1912 – 7 November 1990) was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. He was the eldest brother of naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell. Born in India to British colonial pare ...

. Her passionate love affair and friendship with Miller strongly influenced her both sexually and as an author. Claims that Nin was

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

were given added circulation by the 1990

Philip Kaufman Philip Kaufman (born October 23, 1936) is an American film director and screenwriter who has directed fifteen films over a career spanning more than six decades. He has been described as a "maverick" and an "iconoclast," notable for his versati ...

film ''

Henry & June ''Henry & June'' is a 1990 American biographical drama film directed by Philip Kaufman, and starring Fred Ward, Uma Thurman, and Maria de Medeiros. It is loosely based on the posthumously published 1986 Anaïs Nin book of the same name, and ...

'' about Miller and his second wife

June Miller June Miller (January 7 or 28, 1902 – February 1, 1979) was the second wife of novelist Henry Miller. He wrote prolifically about her and their relationship in his books, usually using the pseudonyms Mona or Mara interchangeably. She also appea ...

. The first unexpurgated portion of Nin's journal to be published, ''

Henry and June ''Henry and June: From the Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin'' (full title ''Henry and June: From a Journal of Love: The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin 1931–1932'') is a 1986 book that is based upon material excerpted from the unpublished ...

'', makes it clear that Nin was stirred by June to the point of saying (paraphrasing), "I have become June," though it is unclear whether she consummated her feelings for her sexually. To both Anaïs and Henry, June was a

femme fatale A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of ...

irresistible, cunning, erotic. Nin gave June money, jewelry, clothes; often leaving herself without money.

Novels and other publications

In addition to her journals and collections of erotica, Nin wrote several novels, which were frequently associated by critics with

surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

. Her first book of fiction, ''

House of Incest ''House of Incest'' is a slim volume of 72 pages written by Anaïs Nin. Originally published in 1936, it is Anaïs Nin's first work of fiction. But unlike her diaries and erotica, ''House of Incest'' does not detail the author's relationships wi ...

'' (1936), contains heavily veiled allusions to a brief sexual relationship Nin had with her father in 1933: While visiting her estranged father in France, the then-thirty-year-old Nin had a brief incestuous sexual relationship with him. In 1944, she published a collection of short stories titled '' Under a Glass Bell'', which were reviewed by

. Nin was also the author of several works of non-fiction: Her first publication, written during her years studying psychoanalysis, was '' D. H. Lawrence: An Unprofessional Study'' (1932), an assessment of the works of

D.H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

. In 1968, she published ''

The Novel of the Future ''The Novel of the Future'' is a non-fiction book by Anaïs Nin, published in 1968.Anaïs Nin (1968). ''The Novel of the Future''. New York: Macmillan. In it she explores the nature of the creative process in relation to novel-writing, including c ...

'', which elaborated on her approach to writing and the writing process.

Personal life

According to her diaries, ''Vol. 1, 1931–1934'', Nin shared a

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

lifestyle with

during her time in Paris. Her husband Guiler is not mentioned anywhere in the published edition of the 1930s parts of her diary (Vol. 1–2) although the opening of Vol. 1 makes it clear that she is married, and the introduction suggests her husband refused to be included in the published diaries. The diaries edited by her second husband, after her death, tell that her union with Miller was very passionate and physical, and that she believed that it was a pregnancy by him that she aborted in 1934. In 1947, at the age of 44, she met former actor

in a Manhattan elevator on her way to a party. The two ended up dating and traveled to California together; Pole was sixteen years her junior. On March 17, 1955, while still married to Guiler, she married Pole at

Quartzsite, Arizona Quartzsite is a town in La Paz County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 census, the population was 2,413. Interstate 10 runs directly through Quartzsite which is at the intersection of U.S. Route 95 and Arizona State Route 95 with ...

, returning with him to live in California. Guiler remained in New York City and was unaware of Nin's second marriage until after her death in 1977, though biographer

Deirdre Bair Deirdre Bair (June 21, 1935 – April 17, 2020) was an American literary scholar and biographer. She won a National Book Award for her biography of Samuel Beckett in 1981. Early life and education Bair was born Deirdre Bartolotta on June 21, ...

alleges that Guiler knew what was happening while Nin was in California, but consciously "chose not to know". Nin referred to her simultaneous marriages as her "bicoastal trapeze". According to Deidre Bair: In 1966, Nin had her marriage with Pole annulled, due to the legal issues arising from both Guiler and Pole trying to claim her as a dependent on their federal tax returns. Though the marriage was annulled, Nin and Pole continued to live together as if they were married, up until her death in 1977. According to Barbara Kraft, prior to her death Anaïs had written to Hugh Guiler asking for his forgiveness. He responded by writing how meaningful his life had been because of her. After Guiler's death in 1985, the unexpurgated versions of her journals were commissioned by Pole. Six volumes have appeared (''

'', ''

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

'', ''

Incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adoption ...

'', ''

Nearer the Moon ''Nearer the Moon: From a Journal of Love'' (full title ''Nearer the Moon: From a Journal of Love, the Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin (1937–1939)'') is a 1996 book based upon material excerpted from the unpublished diaries of Anaïs Nin. I ...

'', '' Mirages'', and ''

Trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or flying, an ...

''). Pole arranged for Guiler's ashes to be scattered in the same area where Anaïs's ashes were scattered, a place called Mermaid Cove off the Pacific coast. Pole died in July 2006. Nin once worked at Lawrence R. Maxwell Books, located at 45 Christopher Street in New York City. In addition to her work as a writer, Nin appeared in the

Kenneth Anger Kenneth Anger (born Kenneth Wilbur Anglemyer, February 3, 1927) is an American underground experimental filmmaker, actor, and author. Working exclusively in short films, he has produced almost 40 works since 1937, nine of which have been grouped ...

film ''

Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome ''Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome'' is a 38-minute avant-garde short film by Kenneth Anger. It was filmed in December 1953 and completed in 1954. Anger created two other versions of this film in 1966 and the late 1970s. According to him, the fi ...

'' (1954) as

Astarte Astarte (; , ) is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess Ashtart or Athtart (Northwest Semitic), a deity closely related to Ishtar (East Semitic), who was worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity. The name i ...

; in the

Maya Deren Maya Deren (born Eleonora Derenkowska, uk, Елеоно́ра Деренко́вська, links=no;

film ''Ritual in Transfigured Time'' (1946); and in ''Bells of Atlantis'' (1952), a film directed by Guiler under the name "Ian Hugo" with a soundtrack of

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

Louis and Bebe Barron Bebe Barron ( – ) and Louis Barron ( – ) were two American pioneers in the field of electronic music. They are credited with writing the first electronic music for magnetic tape composed in the United States, and the first entirely ele ...

. In her later life, Nin worked as a tutor at the International College in Los Angeles.

Death

Nin was diagnosed with

in 1974. She battled the cancer for several years as it metastasized, and underwent numerous surgeries,

radiation In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes: * ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...

, and

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

. Nin died of the cancer at

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

, California, on January 14, 1977. Her body was

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

, and her ashes were scattered over

Santa Monica Bay Santa Monica Bay is a bight of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, United States. Its boundaries are slightly ambiguous, but it is generally considered to be the part of the Pacific within an imaginary line drawn between Point Dume, in ...

in Mermaid Cove. Her first husband, Hugh Guiler, died in 1985, and his ashes were scattered in the cove as well. Rupert Pole was named Nin's

literary executor The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially completed wo ...

, and he arranged to have new, unexpurgated editions of Nin's books and diaries published between 1985 and his death in 2006. Large portions of the diaries are still available only in the expurgated form. The originals are located in the

UCLA Library The library system of the University of California, Los Angeles, is one of the largest academic research libraries in North America, with a collection of over twelve million books and 100,000 serials. The UCLA Library System is spread over 12 libr ...

Legacy

The explosion of the

feminist movement The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or feminism) refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for Radical politics, radical and Liberalism, liberal reforms on women's issues created by the inequality b ...

in the 1960s gave feminist perspectives on Nin's writings of the past twenty years, which made Nin a popular lecturer at various universities; contrarily, Nin dissociated herself from the political activism of the movement. In 1973, prior to her death, Nin received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from the

Philadelphia College of Art Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since 1 ...

. She was also elected to the United States

National Institute of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

in 1974, and in 1976 was presented with a ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' Woman of the Year award.

directed the 1990 film ''

'' based on Nin's diaries published as '' Henry and June: From the Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin''. She was portrayed in the film by actress

Maria de Medeiros Maria Esteves de Medeiros Victorino de Almeida, DamSE (born 19 August 1965), known professionally as Maria de Medeiros (), is a Portuguese actress, director, and singer who has been involved in both European and American film productions. Ear ...

. Nin's work directly inspired

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

when writing the text of her photo book ''

Sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

'' in 1992. In February 2008, poet

Steven Reigns Steven Reigns (born 1975) is an American poet, artist and activist known for his poetry publications, his work as West Hollywood's first City Poet, his participatory art projects, his LGBT activism, and his scholarly work on Anaïs Nin. Biogra ...

organized ''Anaïs Nin at 105'' at the Hammer Museum in Westwood, Los Angeles. Reigns said: "Nin bonded and formed very deep friendships with women and men decades younger than her. Some of them are still living in Los Angeles and I thought it'd be wonderful to have them share their experiences with in"

Bebe Barron Bebe Barron ( – ) and Louis Barron ( – ) were two American pioneers in the field of electronic music. They are credited with writing the first electronic music for magnetic tape composed in the United States, and the first entirely elec ...

, electronic music pioneer and longtime friend of Nin, made her last public appearance at this event. Reigns also published an essay refuting

Bern Porter Bernard Harden Porter (born February 14, 1911, Porter Settlement in Houlton, Aroostook County, Maine – died June 7, 2004, in Belfast, Maine) was an American artist, writer, publisher, performer, and physicist. He was a representative of the avan ...

's claims of a sexual relationship with Nin in the 1930s. Cuban-American writer

Daína Chaviano Daína Chaviano () (born 19 February 1957, Havana)Profile
''Encyclopæd ...

paid homage to Anaïs Nin and

in her novel ''Gata encerrada'' (2001), where both characters are portrayed as disembodied spirits whose previous lives they shared with Melisa, the main character—and presumably Chaviano's

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...

—, a young Cuban obsessed with Anaïs Nin.Rodríguez, Antonio O. and Andricaín, Sergio. "Fusión de erotismo y magia: ''Gata encerrada'' es una novela cautivadora".

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

en Español, July 11, 2001 The Cuban poet and novelist

Wendy Guerra Wendy Guerra (born 11 December 1970), formally Wendy Guerra Torres, is a Cuban poet and novelist, based in Miami. After a brief career acting in Cuban film and television, she turned to writing and won recognition more readily abroad than within ...

, long fascinated with Nin's life and works, published a fictional diary in Nin's voice, ''Posar desnuda en la Habana'' (''Posing Nude in Havana'') in 2012. She explained that " in'sCuban Diary has very few pages and my delirium was always to write an apocryphal novel; literary conjecture about what might have happened". On September 27, 2013, screenwriter and author Kim Krizan published an article in ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'' revealing she had found a previously unpublished love letter written by

to Nin. This letter contradicts Gore Vidal's previous characterization of his relationship with Nin, showing that Vidal did have feelings for Nin that he later heavily disavowed in his autobiography, ''Palimpsest''. Krizan did this research in the run up to the release of the fifth volume of Anaïs Nin's uncensored diary, ''Mirages'', for which Krizan provided the foreword. In 2015, ''The Erotic Adventures of Anais Nin'' a documentary film directed by Sarah Aspinall, was released, in which

Lucy Cohu Lucy Ann Cohu (born 2 October 1970) is an English stage and film actress, known for portraying Princess Margaret in ''The Queen's Sister'', Evelyn Brogan in ''Cape Wrath'' and Alice Carter in ''Torchwood'': ''Children of Earth''. Background Lu ...

protrayed Nin's character. In 2019, Kim Krizan published ''Spy in the House of Anaïs Nin'', an examination of long-buried letters, papers, and original manuscripts Krizan found while doing archival work in Nin's Los Angeles home. Also that year,

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

published the book ''Anaïs Nin: A Myth of Her Own'' by Clara Oropeza, that analyzes Nin's literature and literary theory through the perspective of

mythological Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

studies and

depth psychology Depth psychology (from the German term ''Tiefenpsychologie'') refers to the practice and research of the science of the unconscious, covering both psychoanalysis and psychology. It is also defined as the psychological theory that explores the rela ...

Bibliography

Journals

* ''

The Early Diary of Anaïs Nin ''The Early Diary of Anaïs Nin'', in four volumes, is the portion of Anaïs Nin's lifelong personal journals and notebooks from the period before it had to be split because it became so personal that only portions could be published while any of ...

'' (1914–1931), in four volumes * ''

The Diary of Anaïs Nin ''The Diary of Anaïs Nin'' is the published version of Anaïs Nin's own private manuscript diary, which she began at age 11 in 1914 during a trip from Europe to New York with her mother and two brothers. Nin would later say she had begun the d ...

'', in seven volumes, edited by herself * ''

: From A Journal of Love. The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin (1931–1932)'' (1986), edited by Rupert Pole after her death * ''

A Literate Passion A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes' ...

: Letters of Anaïs Nin & Henry Miller'' (1987) * '' Incest: From a Journal of Love'' (1992) * '' Fire: From A Journal of Love'' (1995) * '' Nearer the Moon: From A Journal of Love'' (1996) * '' Mirages: The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1939–1947'' (2013) * '' Trapeze: The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1947–1955'' (2017) * '' The Diary of Others: The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1955–1966'' (2022) * '' A Joyous Transformation: The Unexpurgated Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1966–1977'' (2022)

Correspondence

* ''Letters to a friend in Australia'' (1992) * ''Arrows of Longing: Correspondence Between Anaïs Nin & Felix Pollack, 1952–1976'' (1998) * ''Reunited: The Correspondence of Anaïs and Joaquin Nin, 1933–1940'' (2020) * ''Letters to Lawrence Durrell 1937–1977'' (2020)

Novels

* ''

'' (1936) * ''

Winter of Artifice ''Winter of Artifice'', published in 1939, is Anaïs Nin's second published book, containing subsequently alternating Novella, novelettes. 1939 Edition The original edition was published in Paris and identified as ''The Winter of Artifice'', thou ...

'' (1939) * ''

Cities of the Interior ''Cities of the Interior'' is a novel sequence published in one volume containing the five books of Anaïs Nin's "continuous novel": '' Ladders to Fire'', '' Children of the Albatross'', '' The Four-Chambered Heart'', '' A Spy in the House of Lov ...

'' (1959), in five volumes: ** ''

Ladders to Fire A ladder is a vertical or inclined set of rungs or steps used for climbing or descending. There are two types: rigid ladders that are self-supporting or that may be leaned against a vertical surface such as a wall, and rollable ladders, such a ...

'' ** ''

Children of the Albatross A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

'' ** ''

The Four-Chambered Heart ''The Four-Chambered Heart'' is a 1950 autobiographical novel by French-born writer Anaïs Nin, part of her ''Cities of the Interior ''Cities of the Interior'' is a novel sequence published in one volume containing the five books of Anaïs Nin' ...

'' ** ''

A Spy in the House of Love ''A Spy in the House of Love'' is a 1954 novel by Anaïs Nin. Alongside her other novels, ''Ladders to Fire'', ''Children of the Albatross'', ''The Four-Chambered Heart'' and ''Seduction of the Minotaur'', it was gathered into a collection known ...

'' ** ''

Seduction of the Minotaur ''Seduction of the Minotaur'' is an autobiographical novel by Anaïs Nin, the last part of her ''Cities of the Interior'' sequence. It is about a woman named Lillian, and her self-psychoanalysis. The setting is taken from Anaïs' diary account o ...

'', originally published as ''Solar Barque'' (1958). * ''

Collages Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an Assemblage (art), assemblage of different forms, thus creat ...

'' (1964)

Short stories

* ''

Waste of Timelessness ''Waste of Timelessness and Other Early Stories by Anaïs Nin'', 1977, Magic Circle Press () is a small collection of rare short stories by Anaïs Nin Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell (February 11, 1903 – January 14, ...

: And Other Early Stories'' (written before 1932, published posthumously) * '' Under a Glass Bell'' (1944) * ''

'' (1977) * '' Little Birds'' (1979) * ''

'' (2016)

Non-fiction

* '' D. H. Lawrence: An Unprofessional Study'' (1932) * ''

'' (1968) * ''

In Favor of the Sensitive Man ''In Favor of the Sensitive Man: And Other Essays'' is a collection of essays published by Anaïs Nin Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell (February 11, 1903 – January 14, 1977; , ) was a French-born American diarist, ess ...

'' (1976)

Filmography

*''Ritual in Transfigured Time'' (1946): Short film, dir.

Maya Deren Maya Deren (born Eleonora Derenkowska, uk, Елеоно́ра Деренко́вська, links=no;

*''Bells of Atlantis'' (1952): Short film, dir. Ian Hugo *''

'' (1954): Short film, dir.

*''Anais Nin Observed'' (1974): Documentary, dir. Robert Snyder

Citations

Works cited

* * * * * *

External links

The Official Anaïs Nin Blog

Sky Blue Press
Preserving and promoting her literary work.
Anaïs Nin.com
Thinking of Anaïs Nin
Anaïs Nin Foundation
Contact the Anaïs Nin estate for rights and permissions requests * *

(2022-03-21 in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Nin, Anais 1903 births 1977 deaths 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 20th-century diarists 20th-century French essayists 20th-century LGBT people American diarists American people of Catalan descent American writers of Cuban descent American people of Danish descent Analysands of Otto Rank Analysands of René Allendy Burials at sea Burials in California Bisexual women Bisexual writers Deaths from cancer in California Deaths from cervical cancer Former Roman Catholics French emigrants to the United States French erotica writers French novelists French people of Cuban descent French people of Catalan descent French people of Danish descent French short story writers People from Neuilly-sur-Seine People with acquired American citizenship Polyandry Women diarists Women erotica writers Writers from Paris

Early life

Literary career

Journals

Erotic writings

Novels and other publications

Personal life

Death

Legacy

Bibliography

Journals

Correspondence

Novels

Short stories

Non-fiction

Filmography

See also

Citations

Works cited

Further reading

External links