The peace ship: Henry Ford's pacifist adventure in the First World War

Kraft, Barbara

Macmillan

The memoirs and accounts of the Black educator are presented with letters, speeches, personal documents, and other writings reflecting his life and career

Booker T. Washington Papers Volume 4: 1895-98. Assistant editors, Stuart B. Kaufman, Barbara S. Kraft, and Raymond W. Smock (Volume 4)

Biographies & Memoirs

Washington, Booker T.

Smock, Raymond W.

Kaufman, Stuart J.

Community & Culture

University of Illinois Press

When Kraft published The Restless Spirit: Journal of a Gemini, recounting her struggles to achieve individual freedom "as an artist who is a woman in a wealthy, sophisticated society," Carlos Baker, definitive biographer of Hemingway (Ernest Hemingway: A Life Story), wrote, "In the annals of confessional literature, Barbara Kraft's book stands out strongly because of her intelligence, her sharp perceptiveness, the power of her prose and the enthralling personal story she has to tell."\nA review in the L.A. Times said, "There can be no question that this extraordinary journal is a work of excellence. Its poetic merit alone places it beyond the routine categories of thought and art...The Restless Spirit will undoubtedly be "a valuable document in the history of woman's evolution." So Anaïs Nin, the ultimate woman diarist and the author's own mentor and teacher predicts."

The restless spirit: Journal of a Gemini

Les Femmes Pub

Volume 8 of A Cafe in Space, the only current journal dedicated to the life and work of diarist and novelist Anais Nin, contains striking letters between Nin and Hugh Guiler shortly before her death, and between Rupert Pole and Guiler shortly after her death. The letters reveal a need for Nin to emotionally split from Guiler, her husband of 53 years, and how Guiler and Pole, with whom Nin was living, managed to work together promoting Nin's work after her death. They also clear up any misconceptions about whether Guiler knew about Pole in light of the great lengths to which Nin webt in order to keep him in the dark.  Also included in this issue are articles by scholars from around the world regarding Nin, her writing and sense of fashion, filmmaker Maya Deren, the movie Henry and June, as well as a look at Nin's "father-in-law," Reginald Pole, the renowned Shakespearean actor.An excerpt from Barbara Kraft's memoir Anais Nin: The Last Days gives us a look at Nin's final illness as told by an intimate friend.

A Cafe in Space: The Anais Nin Literary Journal, Volume 8

Literature & Fiction

Kanazawa, Satoshi

Jarczok, Anita

Krizan, Kim

Kiakis, Harry

Rainer, Tristine

Nin, Anaïs

Franklin V, Benjamin

Enos, Joel

Essays & Correspondence

Sky Blue Press

It could be argued that it was mere chance that drew Barbara Kraft, a young aspiring writer, into friendship with each party of one of literature’s most famous love affairs: Anaïs Nin, and then Henry Miller; yet, upon reflection, it seems it was meant to be. In 1974 Kraft signed up for a writing course with Nin only months before the discovery of the cancer that would end the famous diarist’s life two years later, and Kraft would prove to be a faithful and dependable friend and companion until the end. During this time, Kraft kept a diary detailing the events of her relationship with Nin, which would become the heart of her acclaimed memoir Anaïs Nin: The Last Days. Only months after Nin’s death, Kraft attended a “Q &amp; A” talk by Henry Miller and, inspired by his dynamism, did a “crash” rereading of much of his work. This rediscovery led to Kraft writing and reading “An Open Letter to Henry Miller” on an NPR station, which Miller eventually heard and admired. Wanting to meet Kraft, Miller invited her to cook dinner for him, and, of course, to engage in a long and interesting talk with him, a habit Miller developed during his destitute days in 1930s Paris when he made sure he was invited for lunch and dinner in exchange for good conversation each day of the week. While no longer destitute, and in failing health, the ritual of dinner and conversation kept on until the very end. Kraft became one of Miller’s sixteen regular cooks, and she developed not only a comradery with him, but a mutually nurturing friendship for the last two years of his life. This memoir is an inside look at the chaos that ruled the famous house on Ocampo Drive in Pacific Palisades, the long stream of people who lived or crashed there, the revolving door of seekers, celebrities, scholars and filmmakers, and how Miller maintained a fulfilling and creative life in the midst of all the commotion. We see the dynamics of Miller’s relationships with his family, his young love interest and those who professed to care for him as his health declined. We discover how some sought to exploit him and how others rose to the occasion when he needed help. It is a highly personal story in which Kraft captures Miller’s conversations so perfectly that one can imagine his voice uttering the words. Henry Miller: The Last Days is a celebration of Miller’s indomitable spirit as his body failed him, his rebellion against old age, his refusal to give in, his never-ending submission to the creative urge, his battle to preserve his right to dinner, wine and talk even if it meant superhuman effort. It is the story of how one of America’s most celebrated writers could have died alone in a house full of strangers. After absorbing Barbara Kraft’s sensitive and yet bold narrative, one cannot help but have even more respect for Henry Miller’s courage and humility, and rejoice in his final triumph.

Henry Miller: The Last Days: A Memoir

Arts & Literature

"On January 14, 1977...at 11:55 p.m. Anaïs made the transvoyage into her 'World of Music.' Her passover was a blessing, relieving her of over two years of constant pain and misery. She wished her ashes to be scattered from an airplane into the Pacific Ocean where they will be carried to all parts of the world. She wishes you to celebrate her by reading." When she died, the willow tree outside her window died with her. A few weeks later Rupert cut it down and dug up the stump. He never replaced the willow that had wept over the dark green pool, shedding its fragile leaves into the emerald water, while Anaïs lay dying.

Anais Nin: The Last Days

Pegasusbooks

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