Iris Owens (1929–2008), also known by her

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

, Harriet Daimler, was an American novelist.

Background

Born Iris Klein in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, Owens graduated from

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

. During the 1950s and '60s she lived in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where she was associated with the group of expatriate writers who produced the literary review ''

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

'', among them

Alexander Trocchi Alexander Whitelaw Robertson Trocchi ( ; 30 July 1925 – 15 April 1984) was a List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist. Early life and career Trocchi was born in Glasgow to Alfred (formerly Alfredo) Trocchi, a music-hall performer of I ...

Christopher Logue Christopher Logue, CBE (23 November 1926 – 2 December 2011)Mark EspineObituary: Christopher Logue ''The Guardian'', 2 December 2011 was an English poet associated with the British Poetry Revival, and a pacifist. Life Born in Portsmouth, ...

, John Stevenson,

George Plimpton George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American writer. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found ''The Paris Review'', as well as his patrician demeanor and accent. He was also known for " ...

and

Richard Seaver Richard Woodward Seaver (December 31, 1926 – January 5, 2009) was an American translator, editor and publisher. Seaver was instrumental in defying censorship, to bring to light works by authors such as Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, Henry Mi ...

. Like Trocchi and Logue, she earned money writing erotic novels for

Maurice Girodias Maurice Girodias (12 April 1919 – 3 July 1990) was a French publisher who founded the Olympia Press, specialising in risqué books, censored in Britain and America, that were permitted in France in English-language versions only. It evol ...

Olympia Press Olympia Press was a Paris-based publisher, launched in 1953 by Maurice Girodias as a rebranded version of the Obelisk Press he inherited from his father Jack Kahane. It published a mix of erotic fiction and avant-garde literary fiction, and is bes ...

. Owens's four Olympia Press novels, along with a fifth which she coauthored, were published under her pseudonym. Owens returned to New York in 1970, publishing two more novels under her own name. She remained in New York until her death on May 20, 2008.

Works

As Harriet Daimler

* ''Darling'' (Olympia Press, 1956) * ''The Pleasure Thieves'' (with "Henry Crannach," pseudonym of Marilyn Meeske) (Olympia Press, 1956) * ''Innocence'' (Olympia Press, 1957) * ''The Organization'' (Olympia Press, 1957) * ''Woman'' (reissued as ''The Woman Thing'') (Olympia Press, 1958)

As Iris Owens

* ''After Claude'' (Farrar Straus Giroux, 1973;

New York Review of Books New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

NYRB Classics series, 2010). * ''Hope Diamond Refuses'' (Alfred A. Knopf, 1984)

References

External links

Izabella Scott, 'Iris Owens: Wit of the Bitch'

Emily Gould, 'Stephen Koch on Iris Owens' (interview)

Lisa Zeidner, 'Sex and the Single Woman: Rediscovering the Novels of Iris Owens'Finding aid to Iris Owens papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Iris 1929 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American women writers Barnard College alumni Brooklyn College alumni 20th-century pseudonymous writers 21st-century American women