Arrows of Longing: The Correspondence Between Anais Nin and Felix Pollak, 1952-1976
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Arrows of Longing presents an Anais Nin radically different from the self-conscious persona of the diaries and fiction. The woman engaged in this long, private correspondence emerges as warm, self-effacing, empathetic, and ready to bear the burdens of others. Felix Pollak, the poet whose friendship with Nin is documented here, also struggled for personal and artistic fulfillment.Library JournalThis title (taken from Nietzsche's Pfeile der Sehnsucht) might well describe the emotional frustrations of the two correspondents whose letters appear in this book. Nin struggled with publishers 20 years before her books achieved recognition. Pollak, an aspiring author and rare-books librarian, deplored what he considered to be his lackluster career choice. Editor Mason (English, Gustavus Adolphus Coll.) successfully organizes the letters in chronological segments beginning each with an explanatory introduction. Nin and Pollak ceased correspondence in 1962 because of some disagreements over artistic principles. However, they resumed correspondence in 1972 until Nin's death from cancer in 1977. Appendixes include a Pollak bibliography and a selection of Pollak's poetry. This book is both useful and entertaining, because it offers a discussion of the writers' aesthetic beliefs while revealing the intimate thoughts of two romantic, creative individuals. Recommended.Robert T. Ivey, Univ. of Memphis
