en en en en en en en en en en en en en en ca en en en en en ne en en en en en en en en fr en ru en en en en it en en en en fy fr en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en az en en en en en en en en en en pt en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en
One of the best books ever written about Marilyn is Marilyn: The Untold Story (aka Marilyn: A Very Personal Story), the memoir of her poet friend, Norman Rosten. Although long out of print, affordable used copies can be tracked down at online bookstores. And now, the book has been reissued in France as Marilyn – Shadow and Light, and is also the subject of articles (in French) from Vanity Fair and Critical Zone. Let’s hope an English reprint will follow…
“August 1962-August 2022: the 60th anniversary of the death of Marilyn Monroe. ‘Rosten’s book offers the most tender portrait that exists on Marilyn. A story as beautiful as it is intimate’ – Norman Mailer
Among the plethora of works devoted to Marilyn Monroe, the testimony of Norman Rosten, published in 1974 in the United States, is certainly the most authentic. Poet, novelist, playwright and screenwriter, Norman Rosten was (with his wife Hedda) one of Marilyn’s close friends during the last seven years of her life. He had met her one rainy day through photographer Sam Shaw (one of the most important of Marilyn’s career, author of the cover photo). Shaw, on a walk with the actress in Brooklyn, had taken refuge with his friends the Rostens to escape the downpours. Wrongly understanding that her name was ‘Marion’, the Rostens had initially taken the young girl with wet hair for a starlet, Shaw’s girlfriend. Before realizing that it was the headliner of The Seven Year Itch, a recent box office triumph.
That hadn’t stopped them from being immediately seduced by her charm. Their whole relationship would thus be placed under the sign of naturalness and spontaneity. Thereafter Rosten visited Marilyn all the more because he was very good friends with her third husband Arthur Miller. With Arthur and then without, Marilyn and the Rostens would spend many dinners, weekends, vacations together, from Upper Manhattan to Brooklyn and to the beaches of Long Island (where Norman almost saved her from drowning one day when she wanted to escape a crowd of fans). Between Norman and Marilyn, the bond was all the stronger as the young woman, in love with poetry, passed her texts to him to submit them to his judgement: ‘Do you think there is poetry in there?’. They would remain close until the very last moments of Marilyn’s life.
Braided with funny or moving anecdotes, this short testimony, the work of a writer, recounts Marilyn with respect and affection, and paints a portrait that imposes itself by its sincerity, by its delicacy, by the accuracy of its gaze. A diamond in the rough for whoever wants to grasp who Marilyn really was.”
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
Arthur Miller, France, Hedda Rosten, Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn: Shadow and Light, Norman Rosten, Poetry, Sam Shaw
Previous Marilyn’s Father: Documentary to Explore Family Secret
Next Shades of Red: Marilyn, the Scarlet Blonde
Pingback: Patricia Rosten Remembers Marilyn – The Marilyn Report
A Passion For Marilyn
Irish Marilyn Monroe Fan Club
Marilyn et la Mode
Marilyn Monroe: The Exhibition Collection
Archives Select Month September 2022  (31) August 2022  (57) July 2022  (40) June 2022  (35) May 2022  (23) April 2022  (30) March 2022  (27) February 2022  (24) January 2022  (28) December 2021  (27) November 2021  (24) October 2021  (23) September 2021  (30) August 2021  (36) July 2021  (30) June 2021  (42) May 2021  (33) April 2021  (35) March 2021  (35) February 2021  (21) January 2021  (18) December 2020  (18) November 2020  (18) October 2020  (26) September 2020  (38) August 2020  (40) July 2020  (43) June 2020  (22)
Categories Select Category Acting  (14) Addresses and Locations  (77) Animals and Nature  (2) Anniversaries  (83) Art and Photography  (221) Auctions  (55) Awards and Polls  (38) Blogs  (52) Books  (111) Business and Finance  (85)    Advertising  (11)    Law and Government  (5)    Merchandise  (42)    Real Estate  (5) Celebrities  (145) Charity  (7) Collections  (13) Death  (32) Documentaries  (41) Exhibitions  (48) Fans  (48) Fashion and Beauty  (123) Files and Documents  (17) Food and Drink  (12) Friends and Family  (85)    Children  (2)    Relationships  (36) Health and Fitness  (24)    Psychology  (12) Lookalikes  (22) Memories and Anecdotes  (48) Merchandise  (4) Movies  (301) Music  (42) Mysteries and Rumours  (53) Newspapers and Magazines  (175) Personal Property  (36) Podcasts  (9) Politics  (6) Public Appearances  (58) Radio  (5) Religion  (2) Television  (48) Theatre  (27) Tributes  (46) Updates  (2) Video  (13)
Follow Blog via Email
Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Join 279 other followers
#Marilyn60 ABG All About Eve Arthur Miller Bert Stern Billy Wilder Blonde Bus Stop Crazy for You Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend Don't Bother to Knock Douglas Kirkland e-zines Eve Arnold Feminism France Gary Vitacco Robles Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Germany Happy Birthday Mr President How to Marry a Millionaire Italy Jane Russell Joe DiMaggio John F. Kennedy Julien's Auctions Korea Let's Make Love LIFE Los Angeles Magnum Photos Marilyn Monroe Milton Greene New York Niagara Norma Jeane River Of No Return Sam Shaw Some Like It Hot Something's Got to Give Streaming Subway Scene The Asphalt Jungle The Misfits The Prince and the Showgirl The Seven Year Itch Travilla Twentieth Century Fox Vogue Yours Retro
Create a website or blog at WordPress.com
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.