Henry Miller Memorial Library, Big Sur California

You can of course send a check payable to Henry Miller Library to:Henry Miller Library
Highway One, Big Sur, CA 93920 (please mark the check: "For the Archives")

The work will safeguard an important and valuable part of history, it will make what we have here available to anyone interested, and, it will make us here at the Library much more able to do interesting exhibits (we will know what we have and, more importantly, we will know where it is!).

The Henry Miller Library owns a very significant collection of letters, photographs, manuscripts, artwork and ephemera relating to both Henry Miller and to the Big Sur history. Today the Archives are organized in:

* Emil Schnellock Collection - original letters, manucripts, photos...
* Emil White Collection - letters, many about Big Sur in the 40-50 -ies
* June Lancaster Collection - correspondence between June and Henry M.
* Big Sur Collection - books, pamphlets, letters, photos, magazines etc.
* Henry Miller Collection - our general collection of Miller material.

Please consider making a generous donation towards this project. Every bit helps. Breaking the rules in fundraising, we will not suggest an amount. The ability to donate varies a lot from person to person and we do not want to limit anyone in any way - up or down. Please don't hesitate to give a substantial amount if you can - it will go towards a good cause. Similarly don't hesitate to give a small amount; knowing that you support the HMML is very important. The more individual support we receive the better our chances are when we apply to Foundations for grants. The question is always: "Do you have community support?"Please contact Magnus Toren at the Henry Miller Library if you have any questions or suggestions before spending your taxdeductible money : magnus@henrymiller.org or 831-667-2574.

Other News:

Irving Stettner, a good friend of Henry Miller's recently passed away.
Short obituray here. The "Stroker" website here.

Irving Stettner has donated three of his fine watercolors to the Henry Miller Library. They are hanging on our wall.

Donations:

We recently received a donation of 138 foreign editions (from Miller bibliographer Roger Jackson) of Miller books and several original handwritten letters by Miller. Our collection is growing! Thank you.

If you have books to donate - we'd love it.

We bought the Emil Schnelloch Archives!

The Henry Miller Library has purchased a major literary archive, the Henry Miller/Emil Schnellock Archives. The significance of this collection is perhaps best illustrated by quoting Roger Jackson, author of Henry Miller-A Bibliography of Primary Sources. After an appraisal of the uniqueness, age, and originality of the material Mr. Jackson states: "This is the most important collection, with the exception of the collection at UCLA, of Henry Miller material anywhere in the world." A note on the correspondence between Miller and Schnellock. The early letters from Henry Miller to his boyhood friend Emil Schnellock were written between 1922 and 1934, most of them during Miller's first few years in Paris. Letters were an ideal medium for his gifts: bawdiness, exuberance, humors, mood changes, quick sketches, random ideas and arguments are all happily accommodated. An irrepressible need to write made him scribble on tablecloths and menus, filling his letters with himself and his Paris.The Miller/Schnellock Archive contains 187 letters from Miller to Schnellock spanning 40 years of friendship.This is a momentous time in the history of the Henry Miller Library. For us, here in Big Sur, to be caring for and making available this marvelous collection of original material is a dream come true. The Archives contains an extraordinary richness of manuscripts; typescripts of literary sketches; Miller's first known letter of appeal; letters written, from the twenties through the forties, to his "literary trustee," Emil Schnellock; watercolors; postcards and several items previously unknown to Miller's biographers and bibliographers. Perhaps the single most meaningful document is the over one-hundred pages from the first draft of Tropic of Cancer that chronologically precedes what has heretofore been known as the "first" draft." This collection contains commentary, in Miller's own words, on every stage of his early struggle in becoming a writer. It is truly an exceptional treasure brought "home."We worked hard to raise funds for the acquisition of the Emil Schnellock Archives. The support from our community members, both locally and worldwide, made it possible for us to "save" the Archives. I say "save" because the Archive would very likely have been broken up and sold at auction houses around the world had it not been for our buying it. The task of cataloging and protecting the material in preparation for the eventual display and storage at the Library has begun.

What is the Henry Miller Library?

Is it a Library where you can check out books? Is it a museum? Is it a place exclusively dedicated to housing a bunch of dusty relics about Henry Miller? What is happening in this place? The answers to these questions come easily when guests of the Library from around the world arrive to pay a visit. Most of them are drawn by the name "Henry Miller," but once here, they discover local artwork, sculpture, poetry, literature and, at times, music, both in our limited indoor space and in the natural redwood amphitheater that is the Library's grounds. On occasion we'll have poetry readings, lectures, educational fairs, concerts, workshops and other events. But the Library is not, at heart, a place where things are "happening." I believe its greatest asset is the sense it gives of entering an oasis, a symbol of the inspirational, perhaps spiritual, aspect of this magnificent coast. It is a place where thousands of people come to find solace in a world gone increasingly "busy" and commercial. A place where synchronicity is legend and where you can learn about what Miller has done and about the artistic culture of Big Sur.Many people come to Big Sur specifically to visit the Henry Miller Library. Very often their reaction is one of awe and gratitude."Thank you for keeping a place like this alive!" they tell us.Aside from being an "oasis," the Library is also a very important cultural institution. We offer programs to tour groups, guests at local hotels and resorts (such as the Post Ranch Inn and Ventana Inn), Elderhostel groups, special interest groups (our annual Children's Writers Workshop), etc.. Many writers, journalists and photographers come to the Library for information and inspiration.It is apparent, both here at the Library and here on the web, that Miller has a very large following overseas. The fact that Henry Miller is lesser known in this, his country of birth, than abroad emphasizes the Library's mission to champion Miller's literary, artistic and cultural contributions and to educate people about his life and work. I have no doubt that Miller is, regardless of what opinion one might have of his merit as a writer, a person whose motivations, creed, method and artistic output will, for a very long time, be of interest to a vast number of people. Miller is, and will remain, a cultural phenomenon. His life and art had, and continues to have, a profound influence on several generations of writers as indicated by the tributes directed to Miller from authors such as Edmund Wilson, T.S. Eliot, Lawrence Durrell, Aldous Huxley, Norman Mailer, Philip Roth, Erica Jong and William Carlos Williams. More significant, perhaps, is the impact Miller has had on the lives and perceptions of the millions of people who have read his work and admired his paintings in this country and throughout the world.As the Library is today, it is difficult to provide enough space for both the Miller material and local art and history. With the added gallery space, we'll be able to do justice to both. We also hope to create a more homelike and comfortable environment in the current space, something many people fondly remembers from the days when Emil White was alive. We will have areas for sitting; bookshelves stocked with books about Big Sur, its natural, cultural and art history; sections on Miller and his contributions; artwork by local artists, both contemporary and from the past; and a place for watching films on video about the region. The plan for the Library gardens include a variety of native plants (the maritime climate here brings an abundance of plants to choose from), more places for sculpture, and a restoration of some of the areas that are now used for vehicular traffic.Moreover, the importance of being able to offer guests from all over the world an exhibit, at all times of the year, can not be overemphasized. Many visitors come to Monterey County partly to enjoy its literary heritage, and many come to Big Sur specifically to visit where Henry Miller spent many productive years. The Library's Miller collection is the second most extensive in the world, next only to UCLA's.The Henry Miller Library is a valuable asset, an oasis that serves visitors to Monterey County and Big Sur in particular. It is a community center for local residents, providing them with services not available anywhere else in Big Sur. It has an educational mission, which goes beyond Henry Miller to the literature, history and ecology of the Big Sur area.From the Library Guest Book on the front porch:

“I was looking for the Big Sur of my dreams, I did not find it until I found this place. Thank You!”

"I could breathe here again. I thought it was only a memory."

"I feel like I’ve found myself again for a moment. Thanks for the music, sunshine and magic."

"A very special oasis! I never had any idea that Henry Miller had such a sense of humor."

"Thanks for a moment of peace - they’re too few and far between sometimes. Much appreciated!!"

"What a wonderful place! It inspires me deeply. Thanks for being there for us lost souls, lonely spirits of far away countries. Thanks for reminding me of who I am!"

"From the Hearst Castle to the Miller Library. This smaller giant compels me in ways the palace never can."

"To escape into the world of Henry Miller is beyond anything I thought I would have encountered at the Big Sur area. Thank you for keeping his soul alive for those who feel kissed by his magic."