Gotham City, Superman couldn't save the Gotham. This just in from my friend Adele Aldridge.

"I hope you get this - without the Gotham we would never have met"

Anais is mentioned in this article this morning in the New York Times, on the sad end of Gotham Book Mart.

Here is the permalink to this morning's article. to the article on the non-arrival of Superman with a bookbag.


It is in this revered bookstore that I came with friend, author, anthologist and literary critic William Rossa Cole and learned about the Celebration Weekend, brainchild of Adele and Valerie Harms.

Cole introduced me to Ms. Steloff, and as soon as his back was turned (he disliked Nin and called all of her readers "ninnies") I said breathlessly, as only a young Chicagoan could say after just being taken to lunch at the Algonquin, "Oh Frances, I read about you in the Diaries". At that moment, she waved me into her inner office and gave me a flyer for the weekend which she was part of, with her dear friend Anais.


As readers of her diaries know, when Anais left Paris because of the war, she sent her books to Frances Steloff of the Gotham Book Mart. Valerie has written a portrait of Frances in her book, Stars in My Sky. Although only one star (Nin) is written about in the portrait on our site, if one finds a copy of Valerie's original book the portrait of Frances Steloff is striking. Find a copy at the best kept secret on finding out of print books on the web: Abe Books

Photo used above by Steven Reigns