The Cramoisy queen
Subtitle: a life of Caresse Crosby
By: Linda Hamalian.
Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Carbondale
Language: eng
Number of pages: 247
Subjects: Crosby, Caresse, 1892-1970.; Poets, American -- 20th century -- Biography.; Publishers and publishing -- France -- Biography.; Americans -- France -- Paris -- History -- 20th century.; Literature publishing -- France -- Paris -- History -- 20th century.; Paris (France) -- Intellectual life -- 20th century.
Description: "An American debutante turned expatriate writer and literary benefactor, Caresse Crosby rejected the culturally prescribed roles of women of her era and background in search of an independent, creative, and socially responsible life. Poet, memoirist, advocate of women's rights and the peace movement, Crosby published and promoted modern writers and artists such as Hart Crane, Dorothy Parker, Salvador Dali, and Romare Bearden. She also earned a place in the world of fashion by patenting one of the earliest versions of the brassiere.".

"Behind her public success was a chaotic life: three marriages, two divorces, the suicide of Harry Crosby, strained relationships with her children, and legal confrontations over efforts to establish a center for world peace. As the first biographer to consider both the literary and social contexts of Crosby's life, Linda Hamalian details Crosby's professional accomplishments and her personal struggles. The Cramoisy Queen: A Life of Caresse Crosby also measures the impact of small presses on modernist literature and draws connections between key writers and artists of the era.".

"Born Mary Phelps Jacob in 1892 to aristocratic parents in New York City, Crosby acquired additional wealth and prestige when she married into the Peabody family in 1915. But she rebuffed her comfortable class affiliations and scandalized Boston society when she left Richard Peabody to marry Harry Crosby in 1922. It was Harry who convinced her to change her name to Caresse and who later called her his Cramoisy Queen. The couple moved to Paris, where Harry was a writer and Caresse took art classes. Together, they founded Black Sun Press, which published such influential figures as D. H. Lawrence, Kay Boyle, Ernest Hemingway, and James Joyce and also reprinted classic texts in letterpress editions.

Arguing that Caresse was the driving force behind Black Sun Press, Hamalian outlines how she far surpassed her programmed role as the mirror-companion of her husband in this literary endeavor. In fact, Caresse published five volumes of poetry, among them Graven Images with Houghton Mifflin in 1926." "After Harry's suicide in 1929, Crosby directed the press for the next thirty years. She returned to the United States, where she associated with such figures as Henry Miller and Anais Nin, publicized the work of Salvador Dali, opened an art gallery in Washington, D.C., and published the cross-disciplinary journal Portfolio."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Spunky little rich girl; title: Polly meets Harry; title: How Polly became Caresse; title: A woman of many trades; title: Treasures for the Black Sun Press; title: The death of Harry Crosby; title: Business or pleasure; title: Atlantic crossings; title: Mind over matter; title: Old friends, new friends; title: A woman of influence; title: Back in the avant-garde; title: Mondialization; title: Fame; title: A thirty-year plan; title: How to run a castle; title: Keeping the faith.