10 December, 1983
Who's afraid of '84? Not me, my dears!
We are
only days away from 1984. "Big Brother" may be watching you
(and me), but let him. My life is an open book. Isn't yours? There is
nothing to hide, nothing to be ashamed of. This newsletter's first draft
begins in a metro speeding underneath Paris. The car is packed with people.
Two street musicians are singing "The Sounds of Silence". We
stop at Varennes and there is Rodin's "The Thinker". I pull
out a franc and my action seems to encourage the beautiful woman next
to me. They leave us at Champs-Élysées-Clémenceau
and now a real silence descends on us. I have a class at the university
at 11pm, it will end at 1pm and I am home again by 5:30 and the weekend
begins. Thanks you, tax-payers of France. Your kindness is greatly appreciated.
I like to think that your money is well spent, that I do not inflict damage
upon your children.
The photo
above is of a dear friend, Anna Köhler. She used to live here in
A2. (And she used to cut my hair.) Now she is an actress in off-off Broadway
productions and from all reports reaching Paris, she is doing well. Hooray!!
Speaking
of metros, some time ago I said "hello" to a young woman sitting
opposite me. We became friends. Her name: Zsuzsa Merei. Now another delightful
woman comes to Paris from Budapest, and thanks to Zsuzsa, Jutka Dobo and
I are friends. Sometimes life is so easy, so simple. I really must visit
them in Budapest one of these days. I understand it is a beautiful city.
I had a
"surprise" birthday party - thanks to Cathy Sroufe and Will
Reed. And I also enjoyed Thanksgiving "left-overs" at Cathy's.
Not only is she one of the sweetest ladies in Paris, she is also one of
the best cooks in town. I feel very sad because the words I wrote in my
autobiography about Cathy (and about so many others) had to be cut. I
hope to publish another volume and have many more stories and friends
included. Also many names were somehow not included in the dedication.
Lisa Markuson and Barbara Steinkeller for two...
The 13th
of February approaches. Thanks for Coming! will be published that
day. Don't forget to have your favorite bookshop stock copies. I think
there will be a party in London on the 15th, but no details yet. Greg
Hunt is directing the P.R. for the book. I think a signing session is
being fixed for the Traverse Theatre, so it looks like a few days in Edinburgh
in February.
Atelier
A2 is full of superb people. The more of less resident team includes :
Martin Lehberger, Dorota Janiszewska, Paula Klein, Heather Downs, Sarah
Haggar and young Jim Haynes. (Sadly Ree Craig departed recently for the
USA.) Paula has been ill in clinic, but gets better everyday. She is looking
for a maid's room in this neighborhood. (Maybe Paula will spend this Christmas
in (censored by Paula!!!) if plans materialize.) Heather and Sarah
hosted a wild party for their Jacques Lecoq classmates several nights
ago. Now we wait to see if they will be allowed to continue in the school.
Heather goes to Glasgow and Sarah to Wales for the holidays. The rest
of us expect the usual "invasion". (Ulli Lindenmann called to
say that she and Peter planned to be here over Christmas.) Witek Michalek,
from Warsaw, is staying here now for a few days before he departs for
Africa. And Roy Walford paused here on his way to Tunis. (I hope he will
meet Moncef Sassi.) Others that recently passed include Jack Bond, Vilgot
Sjöman (The Cinémathèque is presenting a homage to
him this month and I plan to see as many of his films as possible.), Don
Loeb (from Seattle), Scott Griffith and Barbara Cruickshank (from Edinburgh),
and oh so many more great individuals. There is not room to list them
all. My dear friend Rajak Ohanian has just returned from Chicago where
he stayed with Flanagan MacKenzie. Flan plans to be in Europe in February.
So many good things will happen in February.
Six beautiful, sensitive, intelligent and wonderful women, from left to right, Malgorzata Posluszna (who lives in Warsaw), Jutka Dobo, Paula Klein, Amanda Tolon (who lives in Barcelona) and Jane Dalrymple (who lives in Baltimore with an old friend of mine, Anselm Hollo). I introduced them to each other last Aug. and Jill Diamond (who now lives in Manhattan). Now please send me your photos.
"Passion" celebrated its second birthday recently with another
crazy party. Unfortunately I was not able to stay until the wee hours.
The latest issue has several articles about American expatriates by John
Strand (who writes regularly in "Passion" about theatre). I
will reproduce one paragraph below.
"There's no American writers' community today in Paris," says Jim Haynes, expatriate American author. Haynes runs his tiny Handshake Editions publishing firm from his spacious atelier in the depths of the 14th arrondissement. He holds a regular salon there for artists and friends, some of whom are described in his autobiography, Thanks for Coming!, just published by Faber and Faber. "A lot of poets and writers pass through here," he says, "but the next day they might be in Stockholm or Berlin or wherever. Everyone moves around today. The world has changed from the time of Stein and Hemingway, there are no little ghettoes of literary people anymore."
Congratulations Robert Sarner, Michael Budman, John Strand, and all at
"Passion".
I am called away from the typewriter to talk to someone on the telephone
and it is Zefyr (or Octavia Zefyrlino as she is now known). She is in
Paris and on her way here. She has been living in Colorado for some years.
Another great lady!!!
We are still sending packages to Poland. Ten were sent recently and all
arrived OK. (I just received a package of comics, etc from Ron Turner
in San Francisco. Thanks, Ron!) Any help with our package-sending to Poland
appreciated...
As always the bottom of the page approaches and there are more things
to report than space, but I will soldier on and see what can be included.
Lots of friends have birthdays today: Jack Bond, Shuji Terayama alas (now
with his ancestors), Lennie Jensen (he and Marie-Paule have a new home!),
Laura Long Cavestani, Antj Postma (who plans a trip to Tokyo soon), Bertie
Sperber, Georg Troller, Gordon Dietzmann, and Dorothy Lamour. Tomorrow,
the 11th of December: my papa, Annette Ryffel, and Christina Onassis.
(I don't know Ms Onassis or Ms Lamour.)...Plans for '84 include getting
out of debt (HO HO, Don't believe it!), a lot of travel (to London, Edinburgh,
Cannes, USA, Frankfurt, Warsaw, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and so many more
places... Oh me, there I go, back into debt again. And to see ALL OF YOU
EITHER HERE IN PARIS OR ON YOUR TURF. Zefyr just walked into the atelier
and she looks great!!!! OK, I will stop this and go for a walk with this
beautiful woman/child. I know that in five minutes I will think of a better
end: but may you all have joy, love, lots of hugs and kisses in '84 and
on into the future weeks, months, years.
LIFE IS A GAS!!!!!
Love,
Jim
Atelier A-2,
83 rue de la tombe Issoire,
75014 Paris France