Friday, April 17, 2009

The Santa Fe Social Pages

About half-way through Henry Miller’s American road-trip, which was to become The Air-Conditioned Nightmare, he stayed over in New Mexico for a short stay. It was April 1941. Only a few weeks earlier, Henry had returned to the South, after having interrupted his adventure and flown to New York due to the death of his father. He hoped for a “pleasant and picturesque” stay in New Mexico [1], as his 1932 Buick sedan rolled him towards his new destination.

On April 12, 1941, Henry wrote to Anais Nin from Sante Fe, NM. He had recently been in Santa Rosa, where he mailed her a letter and bought a new pair of shoes, as his old pair was practically coming apart off his feet. He arrived in Sante Fe in the morning, anxious to receive more money through Western Union, since he only had $5 left. “Can't say yet what I think of Santa Fe. It's 7200 ft. high and makes you very nervous. I'm jumpy. The last 300 miles were quite grueling.” [2]

On April 19th, he writes Anais from Albuquerque, where he is thinking of staying on for a week. “Can work in peace here,” he states. “This place in itself is nil. They tell me Taos is fine” [4]

“On the license plates in New Mexico it reads: ‘The Land of Enchantment’. And that it is, by God!” writes Miller in Air-Conditioned Nightmare [p.239]. Once he hits Tucumcari, the desert terrain disorients him: “there is nothing but enchantment, sorcery, illusionismus, phantasmagoria.” He goes on to describe the general area shared by Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona as “the land of the Indian par excellence. Everything is hypnagogic, chthonian and super-celestial.” In New Mexico, Henry has found that he “cough[ed] like hell” due to the dust in the atmosphere [3].

1941 New Mexico license plate. Source: Plate Depot
Beyond these things, Miller has left very little behind about his fleeting experience in New Mexico. But his stay was enough to make the Santa Fe social pages. Under the “Village Gossip” column of the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper, for April 26, 1941, there is mention that Miller is “coming back” to Santa Fe (his original arrival was April 12th). This is possible. But, by April 30th, he was posting letters to Anais from Arizona [4].
The Santa Fe New Mexican column mentions that Miller has recently come from Europe and Greece, and quotes him as saying “the present way of life, which is America’s, is doomed as surely as that of Europe.” The quote would appear in The Colossus of Maroussi [p.236] when it is first published in October 1941 [5]. The paper could not have the book yet, but offers this clue as to its source: “Mr. Miller has four columns in the special section called ‘American Writing’ in the April 21 issue of the ‘New Republic.’ It is entitled ‘A Peroration to a Book on Greece.’ Mr. Miller points to the wonderful effect a visit to Greece had upon him.” [this essay appeared in New Republic just as the column says, and is listed under Shifreen & Jackson as C87].

While in Santa Fe, Henry apparently made the acquaintance of newspaper writer Brian Boru Dunne, if his gossip column in 1945 is any indication. “Miller … is an interesting writer, who visited Santa Fe about three years ago, after he got out of Crete and Greece” (Santa Fe New Mexican, March 16, 1945, p.6). “He told me how he dodged the chief of police in Crete, fearing he would be asked about passports he did not possess. Later, Miller discovered the chief of police had been requested by Mother England to show him about. Miller might have saved $100 to $200 in taxi fares if he had not been so suspicious, Miller wrote eloquently in ‘Colossus of Maroussi,’ about his visit to Greece.” Dunne implies that Miller told him this story himself. It would not have been hard for Miller to have found Brian Boru Dunne in Sante Fe. He appears to have worn a hat like a dandy, and pursued every female in Sante Fe, giving them gold watches he bought in bulk for cheap: “BB Dunne gained fame as the town's society reporter and all-round eccentric” [6].

At left: The header graphic used for Brain Boru Dunne's social column.
Dunne mentions Miller’s new book, “The Murderer,” whose title he finds “disagreeable.” Maybe he would have appreciated it more if he named it correctly: Murder The Murderer, a 70-page book published in October 1944, and subtitled “An Excursus on War from ‘The Air-Conditioned Nightmare’” (not then released). Dunne goes on to complain: “Unfortunately for this Villager, Miller forgot to send a copy—merely sent a publisher’s blurb with two big-lettered words, ‘Cash’ and ‘Charge.’ It would require a plumber’s income to buy all the books brought to the attention of this columnist. Miller is now living in Big Sur, Calif., and he asks: ‘What do you know about the magazine Circle?’ Frankly, this is one magazine I have missed.” Throughout 1944, Miller’s essays and artwork had appeared in a new magazine called Circle.

“Miller is a super-sensitive writer,” continues Dunne. “[He] could not sleep in a room at a hotel in Lourdes as he wondered: 'Who has occupied this room, and which of the 500 diseases left germs in that wallpaper?'” Miller, accordingly dressed, and shoes in hand, tiptoed down to lobby. Slept on two chairs and 'beat it' out of Lourdes.”

The Air-Conditioned Nightmare was first published in December 1945. Miller, “a Santa Fe visitor some time ago,” once again appears in the Santa Fe New Mexican gossip page ("Paso Por Aqui"), on February 1, 1946. Instead of giving Nightmare a proper review, the anonymous author chose to quote a negative “slating” the book had received from the New York Times, by Bernard De Voto: “Miller’s dissatisfaction with America [would be] understandable in the Twenties, but ‘in 1946 it looks less like young innocence and youthful idealism than arrested development.’”
The Santa Fe is quoting De Voto’s “Mr. Miller's Chthonian Nightmare,” New York Times, January 27, 1946.
REFERENCES
_______________________________________
[1] Miller, Henry, and Anais Nin. 1965. Letters to Anais Nin. Ed. Gunther Stuhlmann: p.246; [2] ibid: p. 247; [3] Miller, Henry, and Anais Nin. 1987. A Literate Passion. Ed. Gunther Stuhlmann: p.326; [4] Letters to Anais Nin (1965), p.256; [5] Shifreen & Jackson. Bibliography of Primary Sources, Vol. 1: Item A26a; [6] La Farge, John Pen. Turn Left at the Sleeping Dog: p.109-110.

22 Comments:

Blogger John said...

mont blanc pens
louis vuitton outlet
longchamp outlet
michael kors handbags
hollister uk
ugg australia
chanel bags
coach factory outlet
adidas originals
toms outlet
kobe bryant shoes
nike roshe run
louis vuitton bags
ugg boots
retro jordans
michael kors outlet online
cheap oakley sunglasses
coach factory outlet
ugg outlet
michael kors outlet clearance
coach outlet
tods outlet
ugg boots
coach outlet store online
ugg boots
louis vuitton handbags
north face jacket
concords 11
canada goose outlet
canada goose jackets
pandora jewelry
20151228yuanyuan

2:47 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

polo shirts
hermes birkin bag
cheap ugg boots
mbt shoes outlet
timberland shoes
michael kors canada
michael kors outlet online
tiffany jewelry
ugg outlet online
mlb jerseys
ferragamo outlet
michael kors factory store
oakley canada
ugg outlet
ray ban sunglasses
ralph lauren outlet
kobe bryants shoes
soccer jerseys wholesale
christian louboutin shoes

9:40 pm  
Blogger Unknown said...

jianbin0923
new balance outlet
ferragamo outlet
coach outlet canada
pandora jewelry
moncler coats
adidas shoes
nhl jerseys
ralph lauren polo
hollister clothing
ray ban sunglasses sale

5:15 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

jianbin0927ray ban sunglasses sale
hollister
coach outlet
louis vuitton
michael kors canada
versace sunglasses
louis vuitton outlet
michael kors outlet clearance
ugg outlet store
mlb jerseys

5:40 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

michael kors outlet clearance
fitflops sale clearance
canada goose outlet
cheap uggs
hollister canada
michael kors outlet
michael kors bags
fitflops sale
north face jackets
burberry outlet
20161122lck

2:14 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

michael kors handbags
mcm outlet
moncler outlet
ralph lauren uk
valentino outlet
rolex watches
lululemon outlet
michael kors wallets for women
louis vuitton sunglasses
canada goose outlet
chanyuan11.22

4:52 am  
Blogger John said...

yeezy boost
oakley vault outlet
michael kors bags
pandora charms
lebron shoes
moncler pas cher
salvatore ferragamo shoes
longchamp sale
timberland outlet
ray bans
20161209yuanyuan

9:46 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

nike blazer low
pandora charms sale
coach factory outlet
jordan pas cher
tory burch outlet store
louboutin chaussures
fake rolex
gucci purses
ugg boots
true religion outlet
20170224caiyan

12:14 pm  
Blogger Unknown said...

dolce and gabbana
polo ralph lauren
baltimore ravens jerseys
valentino shoes
cleveland cavaliers
seattle seahawks jerseys
cheap michael kors handbags
cheap nfl jerseys wholesale
redskins jerseys
tennessee titans jersey

8:38 pm  
Blogger Unknown said...

versace shoes
saints jerseys
air force 1 shoes
ed hardy outlet
louis vuitton sacs
dolphins jerseys
jordan shoes
michael kors handbags wholesale
cheap mlb jerseys
michael kors handbags
20170322

10:20 pm  
Blogger caiyan said...

cheap jordans
cheap ray ban sunglasses
coach outlet store
nike air max outlet
denver broncos jerseys
cheap mlb jerseys
ray ban sunglasses
yeezy 350 boost
fit flops
michael kors outlet online
0427shizhong

7:50 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

true religion
cheap jordans
michael kors handbags
adidas nmd
fitflops
adidas tubular
longchamp outlet
yeezy boost 350
kobe basketball shoes
ultra boost
20170606

1:09 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

yeezy boost 350
patriots jersey
retro jordans
cheap jordans
kobe shoes
air max 2017
air jordan
hermes belt
yeezy shoes
longchamp bags
20170715

6:39 am  
Blogger fangyaoting said...

20170719 junda
longchamp outlet
cheap oakley sunglasses
lacoste polo
fitflops uk
cheap oakley sunglasses
polo outlet stores
cheap jordan shoes
nike roshe run
michael kors outlet clearance
ralph lauren outlet

9:25 pm  
Blogger Unknown said...

ugg outlet
ugg boots
louis vuitton sacs
tennessee titans jersey
nike outlet
ugg boots
jerseys wholesale
ugg outlet
gucci shoes
ugg boots
20170812

9:17 pm  
Blogger Unknown said...

polo ralph lauren
asics running shoe
ugg boots outlet
longchamp pas cher
mont blanc pens
mulberry handbags sale
salomon outlet
cheap oakley sunglasses
michael kors outlet
cheap michael kors handbags
20170905lck

12:10 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

www0906

clarks shoes
ray ban sunglasses
coach outlet
christian louboutin
issey miyake
hermes belt
clarks shoes
jordan 8
kate spade handbags
ray ban sunglasses

10:31 pm  
Blogger 5689 said...

adidas yeezy
christian louboutin shoes
canada goose outlet
moncler jackets
prada shoes
christian louboutin outlet
moncler jacket
nike outlet factory
canada goose outlet
nike shoes
zzzzz2018.9.14

10:10 pm  
Blogger DreamNT said...

You write well and very useful content.
If you are free, please follow my blog.









บาคาร่าออนไลน์

5:51 am  
Blogger Unknown said...

air yeezy
hermes belt
goyard bags
balenciaga triple s
yeezy
asics running shoes
yeezy boost 350
yeezy shoes
adidas zx flux
cheap nfl jerseys

3:48 am  
Blogger needs you deserve said...

شركة مكافحة النمل الابيض
شركة مكافحة حشرات

5:10 pm  
Blogger ahmed said...

مؤسسة تطهير خزانات بنجران
تعمل شركتنا مؤسسة تطهير خزانات بنجران بالكثير من الميادين المخصصة بالنظافة .
فهي تعد من أفضل المؤسسات في ذلك الميدان .
وذلك لأجل أن تعمل على تيسير هامة البحث على جميع الزبائن الذين يقومون بالبحث عن مؤسسة تطهير في ميدان ما .
نصائح لرائحة بيت منعشة
شركة تنظيف موكيت بمكة
شركة كشف تسربات المياه بمكة
شركة مكافحة حشرات بمكة

8:17 pm  

Post a Comment

<< Home