By and about Henry Miller

One of Henry Miller’s books, The Books in My Life, was a model for my book, and his books were an important influence on me. I discuss that book in the Introduction to Volume I of my book. That is the only book of Henry Miller that I discuss in my book, however Henry Miller wrote over fifty books, and I also want to comment on some of them. One of the purposes of this website is to provide a place for me to discuss additional books by writers whom I discuss in my book, but where I only discussed one or two of their books due to limits of time and space. So for that reason I have created a separate section for Henry Miller on this website that accompanies my book. Like several writers I discuss in my book who write both fiction and nonfiction, I will only be discussing Henry Miller’s nonfiction and autobiographical writings. Although his fiction is considered autobiographical, numerous commentators conclude they aren’t entirely nonfiction.

In my book, I only discussed some of Henry Miller’s ideas. In the bibliography below, more light will be shed on the person, which also helps to explain some of his ideas. Because I have only read some of his books so far, the bibliography below will be very selective. I chose the particular books and documentaries below from among the larger amount of materials by and about him because they are enlightening, and I have read or seen them. As I read more of his books, especially those that he wrote about other subjects, as well as books about him, I will add to the bibliography in this section in coming years. I cannot take more time to do that now.

Lastly, I want to mention that Henry Miller is often considered in the public mind at least, among those who know of his writing, as one of the forerunners of the so called sexual revolution of the 1960s. I have my doubts whether writing about a subject actually liberates other people. I believe that true liberation is a practical matter requiring practical solutions. Therefore, I do not dwell here on the sexual revolution aspect of Henry Miller’s writing. However, I do have some thoughts of my own about heterosexual relationships, and how I think we have a long way to go to liberate such relationships. I will take up that subject in the last section of this website. Henry Miller has also produced a substantial number of artworks. I do not cover that subject here either, but I can recommend that the reader look at books containing those artworks. I have added a short description below, as an annotated bibliography, to some of the books where I think that would be helpful to the reader.

Bibliography

My Life and Times by Henry Miller (Playboy Press, 1973)

This book contains many photographs and excerpts from interviews as well as a section on and some copies of his watercolor paintings.

The Art and Mind of Henry Miller, by William A. Gordon (Louisiana State University Press, 1967)

What Doncha Know about Henry Miller, by Twinka Thiebaud (Eio Books, 2011)

Henry Miller did not publish his first book until he was 43 years old, probably older than most writers, and it was not until after World War II that he began to receive sufficient income from his books to own his own house. He lived more of a hand to mouth existence during the time he lived in Europe before World War II. After he was forced to return to the U.S. on the brink of World War II, he moved to California where he was apparently fond of having houseguests. He was already over 80 years old when model, writer, etc. Twinka Thiebaud became a houseguest, cook and caretaker. This book is an account of her conversations with Henry Miller.

Four Visions of America (Capra Press, 1977)

This collection of four writings by four different writers includes one by Henry Miller entitled “A Nation of Lunatics”. Since Henry Miller died in 1980, this was among his last writings. When I first saw this chapter title, I thought surely Henry Miller must be exaggerating. I decided later that he wasn’t, but as it turns out the phrase is not his but rather Walt Whitman’s. Here’s Walt Whitman’s quote in Henry Miller’s final paragraph of his contribution to Four Visions of America:

“Go on, my dear Americans, whip your horses to the utmost – open all your valves and let her go – swing, whirl with the rest – you will soon get under such momentum you can’t stop if you would. Only make provision betimes, old States and new States, for several thousand insane asylums. You are in a fair way to create a whole nation of lunatics.”

The Henry Miller Odyssey (documentary)

There is also a transcript in book form of this film including copies of photographs and other materials under the title This is Henry, Henry Miller from Brooklyn : Conversations with the Author from The Henry Miller Odyssey, by Robert Snyder (Nash Publishers, 1974)

Henry Miller Is Not Dead (documentary)