On this day in 1977, Anais Nin's Delta of Venus was published; also on this day in 1980, Henry Miller died. Delta of Venus was originally written as Nin's contribution to the dollar-a-page pornography that she, Miller and others contracted to write for an anonymous client in the 1940s. Although much of it was taken from or inspired by her journal, of which she was so proud, Nin viewed her pornography work as an embarrassment, and a detraction from the feminist-literary image she wished to promote. During her last year -- she died of cancer in 1977, six months before the book's publication -- Nin became convinced that her erotica might help support her two surviving husbands, and she reluctantly agreed to posthumous publication ... FULL STORY »
