She writes a paragraph in her notebook on the left hand page, and then continues, sometimes at an odd angle, on the opposite page, and then back again, drawing arrows, linking one thought to the next. Some of her notes are like puzzles or maps.

Or ashamed of my sensitive feelings - they are reality Some of her note-taking seems to meld with her poetry and become stream-of-consciousness prose poetry, as does this fragment, c. Her notebooks contain notes from classes she took on Italian art, as well as from acting class. While perusing Fragments it is unavoidable not to feel as if one is prying, sneaking a peek at her diary. A photograph of the original item, in Marilyn’s handwriting,is presented on a left-hand page, while their transcription, sometimes joined by notes of explanation, appears opposite, on the right.īlack and white photographs of Marilyn, frequently reading, also accompany the text. Marilyn wrote poems, letters, and kept journals. Together the pair sorted through the materials and created Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters a glimpse into Marilyn’s life and mind in book form.īuchtal and Comment have tried to present Marilyn’s writings in as straightforward a manner as possible, keeping things chronological. Anna Strasberg, who had never even met Marilyn, asked family friend Stanley Buchthal to help her determine what to do with the boxes’ contents, and he soon enlisted the help of editor and essayist Bernard Comment. from Loving MarilynĪlthough this action, or more accurately, inaction on Strasberg’s part would have disappointed Marilyn, it is because of his neglect that so many of her personal items remained intact, and are able to be viewed as a whole. It is clear that she did not intend for Lee Strasberg to keep her possessions, which included clothing, letters, documents, furniture, all her personal effects that she absolutely clearly stated, that she wanted distributed amongst her friends.

With the exception of two letters, which he returned to their authors, during his lifetime Lee Strasberg never sold or gave away any of Marilyn’s personal effects - this totally contravened the instructions in Marilyn’s Will. Strasberg, however, had not followed Marilyn’s final wishes: Monroe had named Strasberg the primary beneficiary in her will. In 1982, after his death, Actor’s Studio Director Lee Strasberg’s widow, his third wife Anna, found two boxes of poems and other writings by Marilyn Monroe.

Xoxoxoe’s #CBR4 Review #44: Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters, by Marilyn Monroe, edited by Bernard Comment and Stanley Buchthal

Marilyn monroe diary fragments