Home

Miller Henry 1891 - 1980 (89)

The one thing we can never get enough of is love. And the one thing we never give enough of is love.


QUOTES



Tropic of Cancer

Henry Miller (1891-1980) was an American author who created a unique writing style, that was simultaneously autobiographical, philosophical and narrative. Henry was born on December 26, 1891 in Brooklyn, New York. His father was a tailor with his own business, he had a sister with mental retardation. He was a good student but he left college after 2 months and he wandered in America up to Alaska. He returned and did various jobs, he also opened a shop selling alcohol at the time of Prohibition. In 1917 he married an amateur pianist and became a father. From 1920 he worked in the Telegraphic company.

In 1924 he left work and family and went to live with a dancer in Broadway. During this period he started writing with no success at all. In 1930 he moved to Paris and devoted himself to writing. He soon spent all his money and had to live with the help of friends. One of the persons who supported him financially was Anaïs Nin, with whom, he and his wife created a love triangle that was described in detail in his book Hendry and June. In 1934 be published in Paris his first book, "Tropic of Cancer" and follow the "Black Spring" (1936), "Tropic of Capricorn" (1939). His books were banned as pornographic in USA until 1960s.

He left Paris in 1939 and visited Greece where he lived for about six months, he then returned to America and traveled across the country, which led him to the writing of "Air-conditioned nightmare" a travel book with strong criticism against the morals of American society. In 1944, Miller married a young philosophy student, who was 30 years his junior and settled in California. He continued writing and publishing several works including the autobiographical trilogy, Sexus (1949), Plexus (1953) and Nexus (1960). In 1951 he took a divorce and in 1953 he married again. He died in California on June 7, 1980.