Marilyn Monroe
My other half arrived home from her Mum's late last night with a bag of things that had belonged to her Dad that she thought I might be interested in. Among them was the book”Marilyn” by Norman Mailer. I recognised the cover immediately, and pulled my copy from the bookshelf at the end of the room.
You see... once upon a time I went to college, and spent two years drawing people every day. One of the projects intended to fill our head with ideas was “Pop Art”we got paraded in front of various canvases by Warhol, Ernst, and Lichtenstein in the Tate Gallery in London for the day, and pretended we were informed, intelligent, and worldly.
Apart from Roy Lichtenstein's work, which I still adore, I was fascinated by Andy Warhol's prints of Marilyn Monroe.
Back at college, while sitting in the library one afternoon I happened across a magazine article about her. Rather than get on with the economics essay I should have been writing, I tried to draw a picture of her, spectacularly unsuccessfully. It annoyed me so much I tried again, and again. Then one daywhile drawing herI started reading the book I found pictures of her in, and that led to buying a book, which lead to another book.
We have an entire bookshelf in the house filled with books by Eve Arnold, Normal Mailer, and even Truman Capote. Through the movies, the stories, the quotes, and the numerous biographies she became a part of my life.
At times I have wished I could have known her.