Biography
Anaïs Nin's life unfolds like the pages of a novel, rich with passion, creativity, and exploration. Born in the artistic milieu of early 20th-century Paris, her journey took her across continents and through the turbulent currents of her upbringing. Her legacy as a celebrated diarist and author weaves an intricate tapestry of personal and literary achievements.
Early Life and Family Dynamics
Anaïs Nin entered the world on February 21, 1903, near Paris, into a family steeped in artistic and aristocratic traditions. Her father, Joaquin Nin y Castellano, was a distinguished Spanish composer and pianist, while her mother, Rosa Culmell Nin, was a classical singer of mixed French and Danish descent. The marriage between her parents was tumultuous, eventually collapsing when Joaquin abandoned the family for a younger lover. In 1914, Anaïs, her mother, and her brothers, Thorvald and Joaquin, embarked on a voyage from Barcelona, seeking a fresh start in New York City.
The Formative Years
During the sea voyage to New York, Anaïs began crafting her diary, initially as a letter to her estranged father. This diary evolved into a lifelong pursuit, documenting her innermost thoughts and experiences. The move to New York presented challenges; Anaïs struggled with the English language and felt alienated in the bustling metropolis. An introspective and imaginative child, her time at Catholic school in New York was marked by a lack of enthusiasm. At sixteen, disheartened by a teacher's critique, she left school, choosing instead to educate herself in public libraries. To support her family, she worked as a model for artists and illustrators.
Educational Pursuits and Marriage
In the early 1920s, Anaïs briefly attended Columbia University and spent time with relatives in Havana, Cuba. It was here that she met and fell in love with Hugh Guiler, a New York banker. Their marriage took place in Havana in March 1923. Although the initial passion of their union waned over time, the marriage persisted and was unconventional yet enduring. Guiler, who would later adopt the pseudonym Ian Hugo, contributed illustrations to Anaïs's novels, though she seldom mentioned him, editing references to him from her diaries prior to their publication in 1966.
Returning to Paris
Not long after their wedding, Guiler's job took them back to Paris—a city Anaïs considered her true home. In 1924, she encountered her father again after a decade, confronting their complicated relationship. In Paris, she continued her self-education, embraced a brief stint as a Spanish dancer, and forged influential friendships. Introduced to modern writing by a teacher, Hélène Boussinescq, and sharing a fascination for psychology with her cousin Eduardo Sánchez, Anaïs delved into the works of Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, D. H. Lawrence, and Marcel Proust.
Literary Aspirations and Parisian Life
Anaïs's persistent writing efforts culminated in her first book, D. H. Lawrence: An Unprofessional Study, published in Paris in 1932. The financial strains following the 1929 stock market crash led her to move to Louveciennes, a suburb of Paris, where she hosted artists and intellectuals at her home. Among them was Henry Miller, whose early work she fervently supported, particularly his novel Tropic of Cancer (1934). Miller's world introduced Anaïs to a vibrant underground scene, fueling her interest in the human psyche and prompting her to seek psychoanalysis with French analyst René Allendy and later Otto Rank, a provocative follower of Freud.
Personal Tragedies and Professional Growth
In 1934, Anaïs faced the heartache of delivering a stillborn child, an event that deepened her spiritual and emotional exploration. Later that year, she moved to New York to assist Rank and began a career in psychoanalysis. Disillusioned with New York...
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and her practice, Anaïs returned to Paris, residing on a houseboat along the Seine as she sought publishers for her prose poem,House of Incest. The avant-garde nature of her writing proved challenging to publish, leading Anaïs, Miller, and their circle to establish Siana Editions, which eventually published House of Incest in 1936. Her novella, Winter of Artifice, followed in 1939.
War and Return to the United States
The looming threat of World War II prompted Anaïs and Guiler to relocate back to New York. Facing similar publishing hurdles as in Europe, Anaïs took matters into her own hands, using a secondhand printing press to produce limited editions of her works in her Greenwich Village apartment. Her collection of short stories, Under a Glass Bell, published in 1944, garnered critical acclaim, drawing praise from notable reviewers and cementing her status in literary circles. Over the next few years, she published a series of novels, culminating in the "continuous novel" Cities of the Interior in 1959.
Later Life and Literary Acclaim
Anaïs's later years were marked by extensive travel across the United States, Mexico, and eventually a settlement in Los Angeles. Her diary, capturing five decades of life, was finally published beginning in 1966, spanning eleven volumes and earning Anaïs international acclaim. This period also saw the release of works such as Collages (1964) and The Novel of the Future (1968). Although she considered destroying her diaries during the 1950s, encouragement from friends led her to edit and publish them, with the first volume becoming an immediate sensation.
A Legacy Endured
In recognition of her contributions to literature, Anaïs was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1974. She continued to travel and lecture widely, producing significant publications like In Favor of the Sensitive Man, and Other Essays (1976). Faced with cancer, Anaïs stepped back from public life in 1974, and the disease ultimately claimed her on January 14, 1977, at her Los Angeles home. In accordance with her wishes, her ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean. Posthumously, her works Delta of Venus and Little Birds, published in the late 1970s, found commercial success, marking her first appearance on best-seller lists.