[en] Eugene Jolas introduced Caresse Crosby and Kay Boyle to one another in Paris on May 19, 1928 at the Bal Nègre, the Montparnasse nightclub famous for black jazz. Harry and Caresse Crosby were known then as an ultramodern, raffish couple determined to establish themselves as poets and patrons of writers and artists. Boyle had made early, significant contributions to the avant-garde literary scene in the United States publishing in Broom, Poetry, This Quarter, and transition. Despite her emerging success, Boyle was in dire financial circumstances. The Crosbys quickly became concerned with Boyle's welfare and an intimacy between them developed. Their emotional involvement intertwined with their interest in mutual literary endeavors, and the Crosbys' Black Sun Press published Boyle's first collection of short stories and her translation of the first chapter of René Crevel's Babylon, "Mr. Knife, Miss Fork." In 1932, three years after Harry's scandalous death, Caresse published Boyle's translation of Raymond Radiguet's The Devil in the Flesh, and Boyle's novel Year Before Last under her own imprint, Crosby Continental Editions. Her friendship with the Crosbys also provided Boyle with material for a number of scenes in her fourth novel, My Next Bride (1934). Boyle's senior by ten years, Caresse was Kay's confidante, an older, wiser sister of sorts. Over the next four decades, however, the relationship between them balanced out as Boyle's reputation flourished as a writer and social activist, and Crosby made great efforts to promote world peace while she continued to support the work of numerous artists and writers. Both women rejected convention's dictates about romance, marriage, and motherhood. Theirs was an altruistic friendship based on protecting one another's honor and careers.

[fr] Le 19 mai 1928, Eugène Jolas présente Caresse Crosby à Kay Boyle au Bal Nègre, un célèbre nightclub de Montparnasse. Harry et Caresse Crosby, couple flamboyant, cherchent à établir à Paris leur réputation de poètes et mécènes. Or, si elle a déjà publié dans plusieurs magazines littéraires d'avant-garde, telsBroom, Poetry, This Quarter et transition, Boyle traverse une mauvaise passe financière. Grâce aux Crosby, elle publie son premier recueil de nouvelles (1929) et Mr. Knife, Miss Fork (1931), sa traduction du premier chapitre du roman de René Crevel, Babylone, chez Black Sun Press. En 1932, trois ans après le suicide de Harry Crosby à New York, Caresse publie The Devil in the Flesh, une traduction du roman de Radiguet par Boyle, ainsi que son troisième roman, Year Before Last, aux Crosby Continental Editions fondées en 1930. Son amitié avec les Crosby inspirera également à Boyle certains épisodes de son quatrième roman, My Next Bride (1934). De dix ans son aînée, Caresse Crosby joue le rôle de confidente et de grande sœur auprès de Boyle. Pendant plus de quarante ans, les deux femmes entretiendront une amitié sincère basée sur le respect et l'admiration. Tandis que Boyle connaît une brillante carrière d'écrivain et de militante, Crosby poursuit ses activités d'éditrice et de mécène, et s'investit activement en faveur de la paix dans le monde. Tout au long de leur existence, elles n'auront de cesse de se dresser contre le diktat des conventions, qu'il s'agisse d'amour, de mariage ou de maternité. Veillant mutuellement sur leur réputation et leur carrière, elles laissent le souvenir d'une amitié véritablement altruiste.