Fragmentos: Poemas, notas personales, cartas

by Marilyn Monroe

Los textos inéditos de Marilyn Monroe, escritos entre 1943 y 1962. Todo un universo interior para descubrir la otra cara del mito.

Genres: Nonfiction, Poetry, Biography, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Film, Art

269 pages, Paperback

First published October 12, 2010

About the author

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962) was an American actress, model, and singer, who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s and early 1960s.

After spending much of her childhood in foster homes, Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946 with Twentieth Century-Fox. Her early film appearances were minor, but her performances in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve (both 1950), drew attention. By 1952 she had her first leading role in Don't Bother to Knock and 1953 brought a lead in Niagara, a melodramatic film noir that dwelt on her seductiveness. Her "dumb blonde" persona was used to comic effect in subsequent films such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and The Seven Year Itch (1955). Limited by typecasting, Monroe studied at the Actors Studio to broaden her range. Her dramatic performance in Bus Stop (1956) was hailed by critics and garnered a Golden Globe nomination. Her production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, released The Prince and the Showgirl (1957), for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination and won a David di Donatello award. She received a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Some Like It Hot (1959). Monroe's last completed film was The Misfits, co-starring Clark Gable with screenplay by her then-husband, Arthur Miller.

Marilyn was a passionate reader, owning four hundred books at the time of her death, and was often photographed with a book.

The final years of Monroe's life were marked by illness, personal problems, and a reputation for unreliability and being difficult to work with. The circumstances of her death, from an overdose of barbiturates, have been the subject of conjecture. Though officially classified as a "probable suicide", the possibility of an accidental overdose, as well as of homicide, have not been ruled out. In 1999, Monroe was ranked as the sixth greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute. In the decades following her death, she has often been cited as both a pop and a cultural icon as well as the quintessential American sex symbol.

Reviews

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, I had never noticed how prominently books feature in Marilyn Monroe iconography, but now that it’s been pointed out, it’s almost impossible to miss.

Apparently, this was no accident, for as Stanley Buchthal and Bernard Comment ask in their introduction to this volume, do we know of any other actresses from the period who “sometimes took pains to be photographed reading or holding a book?” And this wasn’t merely a ploy to counter a fast-crystalizing reputation as an airhead, a dumb blonde, a beautiful face with nothing substantial behind it. As Buchtal and Comment note, Monroe was “passionately fond of literature.”

And what did she read? Oh, just Ulysses. Swann's Way. Carl Sandburg’s six-volume biography of Abraham Lincoln. The personal library she left behind included titles by Milton, Flaubert, Dreiser, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Ellison, Beckett. Never graduating from high school and embarrassed of the fact, as a blossoming starlet she began taking night classes at UCLA in literature and art history (attested to in detailed notes on Italian Renaissance art included in this volume). She cultivated friendships with Sandburg, Edith Sitwell, Carson McCullers, Truman Capote, to say nothing of her famous marriage to one of America’s foremost playwrights which would certainly have exposed her to the mid-century intelligentsia and literati.



In the decades since her death, it has become widely accepted to think of “Marilyn Monroe” in terms of a binary: Marilyn Monroe/Norma Jeane Baker. The luscious blond sex goddess/the emotionally and mentally fragile woman behind the glamor and wide smile and come-hither gaze. But with this collection, bringing together a recently unearthed assortment of journals, notes and letters, upsets that binary. Certainly not the Marilyn of the silver screen, not quite the tragic, victimized off-screen Norma Jeane, a complex woman instead emerges: one who certainly was beautiful, glamorous, and sexy, one who was also emotionally scarred from a traumatic childhood, but one who was also curious and creative and introspective and literary. A woman who actively pursued a creative and artistic life. A woman who was by no means “just a dumb blonde.”

It’s not that I read every line of this book; in fact, after a while I read very little, instead opting to look at the carefully reproduced pages, studying the erratic handwriting, scattershot layout and curious spelling mistakes (Marilyn probably had some form of dyslexia). It’s not that the poetry is good, and is probably of interest mostly to those willing to dutifully scour it for clues to her psyche and psychological makeup (I am definitely not one of those people). To be honest, most of this is the type of scrawling that should be read by nobody but its creator; coming from different circumstances, this is not stuff that would be fit to publish. But, of course, legends and icons are a different situation altogether.

Because really the quality, even the content itself is beside the point: this is Marilyn/Norma Jeane in her own words, speaking for herself. And it’s been a long time coming.


Originally posted on my blog, Memories of the Future.

[Alex.andthebooks]

Bez oceny, bo nie potrafię ocenić wnętrza czyjejś głowy

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heart wrenching.

I have to start out by saying that I honestly have never been a huge Marilyn Monroe buff - bowing my head I admit that I have never seen one of her films. However, I have heard endless talk of this sensationalized woman, as well as having watched a few bios of her and reading articles about her. Marilyn Monroe's story fascinates me and I find her life struggles and unexplained death heart-rendering. This is a woman whose name and story everyone knows and hypothesizes about. When I first heard of this book, Fragments, I was instantly intrigued and dying to read a copy. Here are my thoughts...

I know many may shake their heads in sadness that this woman's deepest thoughts and desires are now published in the public eye, for all to see. A woman whose privacy was nearly non-existent, now exploited, even in death. While I do share a bit of guilt in my fascination, I found Fragments to be a wondrous delve into the persona of a highly stereotyped and misunderstood young woman. With personal letters, notes, poems, recipes and random jottings, readers will get a bit of a glimpse into Ms. Monroe's life, her struggles and her misgivings. This was a young woman, who, it seems, never truly felt whole or happy in her own skin. For me, the book was a very eye-opening experience and I discovered many things that I had not previously known prior to reading it. I had not known that her biological mother suffered mental illness, or the fact that Marilyn, herself, was put into a mental ward for a time, against her will. This may be well known by some, but new for me.

In addition to discovering such tidbits, I was intrigued by Marilyn's thought process and her poems filled with her own churning emotion. On such poem, which truly grabbed me, is found on page 73:

That silent river which stirsand swells itself with whatever passes over it
wind, rain, great ships.
I love the river never unmoored
by anything
It's quiet now
And the silence is alone
except for the thunderous rumbling of things unknown
distant drums very present
but for the piercing of screams
and the whispers of things
sharp sounds and then suddenly hushed
to moans beyond sadness-terror beyond
fear
The cry of things dim and too young to be known yet
The sobs of life itself


You must suffer-
to loose your dark golden
when your covering of
even dead leaves leave you
strong and naked
you must be-
alive-when looking dead
straight though bent
with wind
And bear the pain & the joy
of newness on your limbs


Loneliness-be still

The letters, poems and other renderings are presented as original pieces, followed by a typed version to enable easier reading and interpretation for the readers. Editors did make simple spelling corrections on the typed version, which is marked in red. I found it incredibly interesting to look upon the actual writings of Ms. Monroe, her handwriting itself, her sometimes random-looking notes and ideas. I have always been intrigued by long-ago notes and letters, handwriting styles and language, this is no different. These writings were all bequeathed to her dear friend Lee Strasberg, upon her death in 1962. They were then turned over to Mr. Strasberg's wife, Anna, upon his death in 1982. It is from there that the adventure of Fragments began.

Fragments is presented in such a way that, I believe, it is not meant to be prying or solicitous, but rather a journey of truth into the deeply misunderstood life of a young woman. There are a few editor's notes here and there, as well as a chronology of Marilyn's life included. Otherwise the entire book is contrived of Marilyn's own thoughts and writings, as well as gorgeous pictures depicting her life. The copy of Fragments that I read is a library copy, but I hope to add a personal copy to my own library, here at home, soon. This is a book that will capture the hearts of long-time fans of Marilyn Monroe, as well as those just wanted to discover the humanness of a lovely woman. I do have to mention that after reading this, my interest in Ms. Monroe has been highly piqued and I have picked up a couple of her bios since and hope to watch a few of her movies in the future.

[عماد العتيلي · Rating 5 out of 5]

In her funeral, Lee Strasberg said:

“We, gathered here today, knew only Marilyn—a warm human being, impulsive and shy, sensitive and in fear of rejection, yet ever avid for life and reaching out for fulfillment”

I think these are the best words to describe who Marilyn really was.

I couldn't suppress my tears when I was reading this book.
Marilyn Monroe is the saddest person I've ever known. She says: “I seek joy but it is clothed with pain”
And she cries: “Help Help
Help
I feel life coming closer
when all I want
is to die.”

It pains me to read her notes knowing that she never intended to have them published.

I loved Marilyn very much when I read her wonderful autobiography My Story and now after I finished reading her private notes and letters I feel like she is ... me! She touched my soul.
From this book I learned something new and very special about Marilyn, she loves reading and she's obsessed with books! This made me love her even more. She loves classics [which is my favorite genre] and Khalil Gibran Is one of her favorite authors.

I highly recommend this book, along with My Story, to each and everyone of my friends. Marilyn is truly a legend.

This is Marilyn Monroe's favorite photo of herself

[Katya]

Sense of humor
Keeping a giggle inside
[s/data]

Marilyn Monroe podia bem ser uma face da medalha cuja outra metade coubesse Margaret Hamilton (a afamada bruxa de O Feiticeiro de Oz). E não digo isto na brincadeira. Tanto Marilyn, como Margaret, não conseguiram senão viver com o produto da sua aparência: uma bela, a outra feia (para não estarmos com meias medidas). A realidade é que qualquer destas duas mulheres tinha o sonho de ser atriz, a atriz dos grandes papéis, a atriz profunda, intelectual quase, sonho esse que apenas cumpriram pela metade. A última aceitando todos os papéis de vilã a que conseguiu deitar mãos, a primeira os papéis de loura burra. Para piorar as coisas, nem Margaret era a vilã horrenda que pintavam, nem Marilyn a boneca tola que criam.
E se os filmes não nos deixam ver a verdadeira Marilyn, estes seus apontamentos não são tão injustos, deixando antever facetas outras de uma mulher cuja ambição era interpretar Shakespeare e Dostoiévski, cujos modelos eram mulheres como Garbo, as amizades a de Marlon Brando ou Lauren Lacall, e os ídolos artistas tão brilhantes como Ella Fitzgerald (que motivou parte do ativismo da sua curta vida, mas já lá iremos).
A Marilyn destes fragmentos é uma mulher simples, descomplicada, comprometida consigo mesma. Uma mulher que, no auge da fama, decide regressar à escola, para estudar literatura e história, e não tem pejo em assumir essa nova obrigação faltando a festas e soirées para estudar em horário noturno. Nestes fragmentos, Marilyn permite-se ser a pequena Norma Jeane de cabelos ruivos, amiga de livros e leituras; a diva que, apesar das centenas de fotos em que posa nua ou semi-despida ainda consegue ser mais vezes fotografada com um livro nas mãos! E, sobretudo, uma mulher tão bela e tão profundamente insegura. Insegura da beleza que lhe punha a comida no prato e mantinha os fãs por perto...

where his eyes rest with pleasure— I want to still be—but time has changed the hold of that glance.
Alas how will I cope when I am
even less youthful—
[1956]

...e insegura do talento que a mantinha a tão escassa distância daquilo que realmente desejava fazer - de grandes filmes trágicos a teatro:

Fear of giving me the lines new
maybe won’t be able to learn them
maybe I’ll make mistakes
people will either think I’m no good or
laugh or belittle me or think I can’t act.
[c. 1951]

Marilyn, a Marilyn que escrevia receitas e fazia preparativos de dona de casa para receber os amigos, que escrevinhava poemas nas costas do papel timbrado dos hotéis e refletia, às vezes tão amargamente, em diários que nunca chegava a terminar, era, acima de tudo, uma jovem introvertida e envergonhada, forçada a conviver e a adotar uma personagem que não podia ser mais diferente de si:

during the year there would be days or weeks when I wanted only to have occasional company when desired - to busy myself in reading so that any attempt at ajustment to a situation which looked slightly forboding became an exausting process - I was an intense introvert probably but because I loved people and had friends wherevere I cared to cultivate them it was perhaps balanced more then it might be if I had not any agreable or charming social patterne.
[1943]

Comprometida com a carreira profissional de uma forma que não merecia tanta leviandade por parte da crítica, Marilyn não consegue deixar de sentir a desilusão de viver num mundo que não foi feito para si. Pouco interessa que tenha lutado numa América segregacionista pela igualdade de direitos - é aqui que Ella entra em cena, conseguindo atuar no Mocambo graças a um acordo que Marilyn firmou e cumpriu religiosamente -, pouco interessa que fosse uma mulher amiga dos amigos, divertida, lutadora - não foram muitas as atrizes que, não satisfeitas com o patriarcalismo instaurado nos estúdios de Hollywood os repudiaram e criaram uma produtora em seu próprio nome -, uma mulher interessada na literatura contemporânea, na arte do século XIX e nos mestres do Renascimento italiano (e que emotiva é a viagem pelos seus apontamentos quando recupera os nomes e as genealogias de Botticelli, dos Médici, de Brunelleschi...), no final do dia, se não passasse a noite numa gala, num jantar ou nas aulas, Marilyn regressava a casa, despia a farda de todos os dias, limpava a maquilhagem, penteava o cabelo e desesperava de se ver reduzida a uma cara bonita:

Alone!!!!!
I am alone—I am always
alone
no matter what.
[1951]

Com a sombra da depressão, do abuso de substâncias e da loucura sempre em pano de fundo, as suas horas de reclusão seriam tudo menos os momentos pacíficos de leitura por que a pequena Norma Jeane sempre ansiara:

Something has nappened I think to make me lose my
confidence. I don’t know what it is. All I know is I want to work.
(...) I think maybe
I’m crazy like all the other members of my family were, when I was sick I was sure I was.
[s/data]

A menina que crescera entre lares e famílias de acolhimento, nas mãos de amigos de amigos, a mulher que agora sorria fazendo sombra no brilho dos diamantes com que nos acenava, parecia ter tudo aquilo com que se pode sonhar, mas entre um casamento a desfazer-se, uma carreira amaldiçoada pelos grandes de Hollywood e o medo de deixar os anos passar sem se concretizar, a vida de Marilyn, e de Norma, estava longe de ser a perfeição que nos vendiam:

Help Help
Help
I feel life coming closer
when I all want
is to die.
[1958]

Ler estes apontamentos, como tantas vezes acontece quando lemos escritos pessoais que não se pretendiam publicados, podia, em certas alturas, roçar o sentimento de transgressão, dar a sensação de que estamos a entrar em terreno pessoal e privado, devassando uma intimidade que não nos pertence. Mas há qualquer coisa de tão íntegro nesta faceta de Marilyn Monroe que a torna tão próxima de nós que as únicas sensações possíveis são as de compaixão e empatia. Isso e uma sensação de caminho percorrido em relação de amizade entre escritora e leitor, e não como mero voyeur do espetáculo que foi a sua vida. Quem a conhecia falava sempre na sua inocência, como se visse a pequena Norma Jeane a espreitar por entre as pestanas de Marilyn. Percorrendo estes fragmentos fica evidente que Norma Jeane estava sempre guardada algures, escondida, protegida do mundo por uma Marilyn de aço.

Its not to much fun to know yourself to well or think you do - everyone needs a little conciet to carry them past & through the falls.
[1943]

[Andis / Slytherin 🐍 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book, and it was so amazing to see Marilyn's own writing. She was a woman with many fears, but she was a genius.

[C. Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this insight into Marilyn Monroe. Her pain emanates off the pages seeing her words in type and in her own handwriting. In a way she was genius, with too much talent in one area and too much naivete and unknowing in another. She might not be able to spell, which might've been dyslexia, they say, but she could write. She could put emotion on the page. The pages of her words, her poetry, and her thoughts made me realize even more what big a loss she was to not only the screen, but possibly the humanitarian part of this world. She had a heart, but she was a mess. She put her whole self out there to be her best, only to subject that self to ridicule and opportunistic people. Worst part of this book was the font and production. This was a difficult book to read. The font was too skinny, the printing too light. I had to read it in snippets because it was not well thought out in terms of formatting.

[Loulou11 · Rating 5 out of 5]

« Seuls quelques fragments de nous
Toucheront un jour des fragments d’autrui -
La vérité de quelqu’un n’est
En réalité que ça - la vérité de quelqu’un.
On peut seulement partager
Le fragment acceptable pour le savoir de l’autre
Ainsi on est
Presque toujours seuls.
Comme c’est aussi le cas
De toute évidence dans la nature - au mieux peut être
Notre entendement pourrait-il découvrir
La solitude d’un autre. »

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wenn es nach Marilyn gegangen wäre, hätten diese persönlichen Notizen und privaten Gedanken wohl nie veröffentlicht werden sollen. Ein bisschen schäme ich mich ja auch, dass ich dennoch zugegriffen habe, aber es hat mich einfach zu sehr interessiert.

Und das Buch ist wirklich etwas Besonderes. Neben eher banalem, wie Einkaufzetteln oder Kochrezepten, beinhaltet es vor allem viele handschriftlich notierte Gedichte, persönliche Gedanken und Sorgen. Gefallen hat mir vor allem, dass neben einem Scan der originalen handschriftlichen Fassung, immer eine gedruckte englische Version inkl. deutscher Übersetzung beigefügt wurden (sie hatte eine ganz schöne Sauklaue).

Das Buch ist nicht als Biografie zu verstehen, eher als Ergänzung und bietet einen Blick in ihr alltägliches Leben und ihr inneres Gefühlsleben. Für echte Fans ein super Kauf.

"Ich stelle fest, dass man Aufrichtigkeit und das, so schlicht oder möglichst so direkt zu sein, wie ich es gern wäre, oft einfach für Dummheit hält, aber da die Welt unaufrichtig ist - ist wahrscheinlich Aufrichtigkeit dumm."

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life —
I am of both of your directions
Life
Somehow remaining hanging downward
the most



*

[Márcio · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a funny thing that I only started watching Marilyn Monroe's films a couple of years ago. Before that, I only had a faint idea of what was her life like, and unfortunately, most of what is/was published concerns her life as a sex symbol or the lover of J.F.K.

It was a huge surprise to see her on the screen (big or the TV set, it doesn't matter). From "The seven years itch" to "Some like it hot" to "The Prince and the showgirl" to "The misfits" to "Gentlemen prefer blondes", even a small part in "All about Eve". That is what I call talent and a personal charisma and magnetism.

As for this book, as the title says, it is made up of intimate notes, notes, and poems. These are mostly Norma Jeane's, and some belonging to the persona Norma was introduced to the entertainment world as Marilyn (Monroe being Norma's mother maiden name). Norma had a troubled life since she was born. It is no wonder she felt emotionally unstable during most of her life, insecure, depressed, and afraid that she could inherit her mother's mental instability. Yet, she was no stupid girl or woman. She was sensuous and she knew this about her herself. She was smart, curious, with a yearning to learn. And regardless of her usual depressive moods, she used to say that she was a gay person and that should count as much. This is what one learns from the many fac-simile documents imprinted in the book written by her.

On the other hand, we also see in between the lines what are the extents the entertainment industry will take to achieve its own goals and to eliminate what they do not want anymore. Carmen Miranda's fate, though not exactly quite the same, was not that different, and the use of barbituric to make room for everyday life demands might also have been responsible for her death. And we know of lives that could have been much richer if they could have accomplished a fairer life and not follow the industry demands. One has to leave the old self behind and become a commodity. For instance, Roy Harold Scherer Jr. became the hunk macho Rock Hudson. Edward Montgomery Clift became the somehow fragile handsome man. Rock Hudson could still live in the shadows, but always afraid to be exposed as a gay man. Montgomery Clift, well, we all know about him.

From my part, either Norma or Marilyn deserves all my consideration, I simply admire her and she is worth each and every star. And one thing I love in most of the pictures in this book is that she is reading a book. Books are a symbol to her, thus those pics are nothing unusual and shall be deeply praised.

But the book itself, regardless of its beauty, goes to a length I am not sure to justice to its intent, that is to show NJ/MM as she was. I mean, when you come to a point you publish a page of her diary with a list of songs or some other pages without much meaning, but just to make room, it feels somehow disrespectful with the one the editors wanted to homage. Thus, 3 stars.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up watching Some Like It Hot on an annual basis. My family and I watched musicals from the 1940's and 50's, which meant Marilyn Monroe was a staple in my childhood viewing habits. When I was quite young, I learned that she had been born into deprivation, abused, and changed her name upon her entry into Hollywood. While many books and documentaries have focused on her beauty and allure and duality, they have all (seemingly) done so from the outside. The movie "My Week With Marilyn" was an expose on a man who admired her, rather than the woman behind the closed door. Reading Fragments indicates, perhaps for the first time, what took place behind those doors. While the rest of the world has been content to view Marilyn strictly from their seats in the audience, I have always craved more, and wished to find out who she was from the inside out. I feel that Fragments begins to paint this picture, often vividly. Though the writing and notebooks and letters are limited, they tell detailed stories. Her ability to write disjointed, incomplete lines and phrases -- often crossing things out, even in correspondences -- speaks volumes. The conclusions that can be drawn, much like Lee Strasburg's eulogy states, belong to those who read them. Everyone, whether logically or not, seems to have their own "relationship" with her. Reading her terror of existing, in her own words, has given me permission to admit privately to some of my own personal and emotional misgivings. Perhaps there are so few "fragments" because she destroyed others, or could only bring herself to admit to her fears in small doses. Whatever the reason, it is comforting, perhaps morbidly so, to see such a powerhouse feel fragile. It is a humanizing reminder that we all have nightmares, and none of us need to hide them from ourselves.

[Graceann · Rating 4 out of 5]

If these aptly-named Fragments had been written by anyone other than the iconic Marilyn Monroe, they would have no value. However, for those who want to know what was going on behind the million-watt smile, there are some pieces here that are invaluable.

I do feel somewhat hesitant about having read this book, simply because these items (other than the letters written to others) were clearly not meant to be seen by anyone other than Marilyn herself. She jotted down stream-of-consciousness poetry, grocery lists, made doodles while on the telephone, just like most of the rest of us do. I don't think the list of groceries needed for one of her dinner parties is going to add to an understanding of the lady or to the cause of literature.

What does help us understand her a little better is seeing the books she was reading throughout her adult life, and reading the scattershot diary entries she maintained, usually in response to new beginnings or old hurts. Her waters ran deeper than many gave her credit for in her lifetime, and that is a pity in itself. While I do feel like a peeping tom for reading her private thoughts, I am still grateful that they were preserved.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book came out late last year and I immediately put it on my wishlist. I don't know much about Marilyn Monroe, but I find her fascinating. And I fell in love with her when I watched Gentlemen Prefer Blondes for the first time. How can you not love a character as sweet and naive as Dorothy Parker? And, from what I've read, Marilyn was just the same (although maybe not as dumb).

Fragments is a collection of notes, poems, and letters that Marilyn wrote and saved. These papers were not discovered until years after her death and now, after some careful deciphering (her handwriting was hard to read and her spelling is atrocious), these fragments have come to light.

There were many things in this book that I didn't know about Marilyn: she married at the age of 16 to escape the threat of returning to an orphanage when her foster parents moved out of state, her mother and grandmother had a history of mental illness, she was sexually assaulted as a child, and she was incredibly well-read. However, I believe this book is better suited towards people who have already read a biography of Marilyn's life, because there were times the editor would refer to instances in her personal or professional life that I had never heard of before, but he assumed the reader was familiar. Actually, this would work well as a companion book to any biography you may read, because the editor did his best to put her papers in chronological order; I feel this would enhance any further reading you may do.

All in all this book made me want to learn more about Marilyn Monroe, but it did teach me some things. I don't believe she was as dumb as Hollywood made her out to be (how can you be when you read Ulysses for fun?), and I ultimately felt sorry for a woman who so obviously needed help but was unable to get it.

I'll leave you with two quotations that really stood out to me, one from Marilyn herself and one from her husband, Arthur Miller.

"It's not too much fun to know yourself too well or think you do - everyone needs a little conceit to carry them through & past the falls." ~Marilyn Monroe

"To have survived, she would have had to be either more cynical or even further from reality than she was. Instead, she was a poet on a street corner trying to recite to a crowd pulling at her clothes." ~Arthur Miller

[Eyehavenofilter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being an avid MM fan I could not help but grab this up as soon as I saw it. I wanted to know if there was anything morethan what was portrayed on the outside, i kind of knew that there was.
With duplicates of actual writings of MM and translations of her scribbles one gets to see the more intimate side of "the Goddess". It is a side that few have gotten to see until now. A seemingly fragile yet intellegent woman with glimpses of greatness in her soul. I always knew she had it in her.
One has to know what "dumb" actually IS in order to portry it.
This is just a crack in the door to a beautiful mind that never really had the encouragement it needed to flower. Unfortunately I dont think that one person alone could have given Noma Jean, or Marilyn even anything close to what she needed to be what she wanted to be. She was very needy, and demanded constant attention.
However in these writing one can see that there was also an intense strength that she could have drawn upon had she not chosen to play the victim, another part she knew all too well. Such a tragedy that this is all we have of her written word, and that she never chose to write anything more.

[Jesús Santana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Norma Jeane Mortenson o Marilyn Monroe, el icono eterno de la belleza y la sensualidad femenina, el rostro perfecto; escondía un talento impresionante. Esa belleza que se consideraba a si misma Jekyll & Hyde, ocultaba un lado lleno de sufrimiento, de melancolía, de pasión y de tristeza que los medios le prohibían mostrar y solo lograron que todo ese dolor creciera en intensidad y la llevara a finalizar su vida abruptamente.

Al morir Marilyn Monroe todas sus pertenencias llegan a manos de Lee Strasberg quien celosamente las guarda hasta el día de su muerte en 1982 dejando a su esposa Anna todas las cartas, documentos, ropa, fotografías y cosméticos que pertenecieron a Marilyn, Anna busca la ayuda de un editor al descubrir los escritos de Monroe y gracias a ellos tenemos ahora la suerte de abrir esta bella y sorprendente caja de Pandora, cuidada al máximo y llena de sufrimiento de una de las mujeres mas sensibles y hermosas que han existido.

Muchos desconocen gracias a la imagen que los medios manejaron de ella que Monroe era adicta a la literatura, que su biblioteca personal se encontraba llena de maravillas como Milton, Kerouac, Joyce, Beckett, Whitman, Hemingway, que la poesía de Rimbaud, Sandburg y Sitwell era una de sus pasiones, era normal verla detrás de las cámaras con libros en sus manos, poseía una obsesión con el renacimiento italiano y de el arte en general.

El prologo “El Polvo en las alas de la mariposa” de este hermoso trabajo es delicadamente trazado por el maestro Antonio Tabucchi quien no duda en compararla con una mariposa, por su fragilidad, delicadeza y belleza o con Sylvia Plath. Un prologo muy sentido, sublime y hermoso como solo Tabucchi lo puede hacer para quien lo merece como el icono y sex symbol Marilyn Monroe.

Monroe es la cara que oculta a La Gioconda en el arte universal, leer a Norma Jeane es ver lo que los griegos llamaron phantasma que significa “imagen”, pero aquí la que vemos es la de su alma; a medida que se avanza en esta asombrosa obra de arte, entre cada una de sus fotografías incluidas en este libro seleccionadas con una precisión exacta y perfecta, acompañado cada hoja, los trazos de sus cartas, diarios y hojas sueltas y fotografías en sus mejores momentos.

Desde el comienzo del libro nos muestra a una Marilyn que los medios se encargaron de ocultarnos, una mujer con una sensibilidad única al hablar de lo que era su primer matrimonio, sus poemas sueltos son líneas duras que solo se atrevía a mostrar a sus mas íntimos amigos, para muchos carecía de maestría pero estaban escritos con dolor y pasión; sus palabras eran gritos de ayuda a una multitud que solo le interesaba poder arrancar su piel y obtener un trozo de ella y su ropa.

Su cuaderno negro de nombre “Record” es uno de los que contiene sus más importantes poemas, llenos de desespero, abriendo con un grito “¡¡¡Sola!!! Estoy sola – siempre estoy sola, sea como sea… No hay nada que temer salvo el propio miedo”. Otras líneas que golpean “…¿Cómo está mi cabeza?, deprimida, loca”. Su larga estancia en el prestigioso Hotel Waldorf – Astoria en 1955 se convierte en una de susa épocas mas prolíficas de poemas y gritos de desespero, hojas escritas con el membrete de dicho hotel y donde el miedo a si misma no se esconde “todo el mundo lleva violencia dentro… Yo soy violenta”.

En 1956 se muda a Parkside House junto a Arthur Miller y descubre el diario del escritor, al leerlo se sorprende la opinión que ocultaba el Miller sobre ella y en estas hojas Marilyn se abre y muestra lo que siente de el amor y la decepción, su miedo a jamás ser amada realmente por alguien “sé por la vida que no se puede amar a otra persona, nunca, realmente”, “busco la alegría pero está vestida de dolor…”. El capitulo de “Fragmentos y Notas” reúne líneas en cualquier papel que se encontraba a su paso, “Estoy cansada. Estoy buscando un modo de interpretar este papel, llevo la vida entera deprimida”.

A medida que uno avanza en la lectura de esta obra se descubre una Marilyn que era muy ordenada y cuidadosa con su hogar o cualquier sitio que se encontrara, que sufría de una posible dislexia, su terror a terminar en un hospital psiquiátrico como su abuela o su madre, esto es realmente su punto de quiebra cuando es internada por engaño en uno. O la carta dirigida al Dr. Greenson en 1961 que es el punto culminante donde Marilyn se desnuda totalmente y descubrimos el amor y el desespero que escondía “los hombres trepan a la luna pero no parecen interesarse por los latidos de un corazón humano”.

Marilyn es el mito, la belleza, el dolor y la fragilidad de un ser humano; de uno de esos seres que se convirtió en un trozo de imagen pero que ella ocultaba una belleza interna que superaba en creces la externa; que su eternidad como mito silenciaba su eternidad como poeta.

Un libro que no decepciona, al contrario se convierte en un cofre lleno de belleza, sus fotos, sus escritos y lo delicado con que se ha hecho esta edición hace que sea un libro necesario en cualquier biblioteca.

“A Marilyn nunca le gustaron las despedidas, pero, imitando su peculiar manera de dar vuelta a las cosas para situarlas frente a la realidad, sí le diré hasta la vista. Porque el país en que ella se encuentra ahora, todos tendremos que visitarlo algún día.”
- Lee Strasberg (9 de agosto de 1962)

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[Carl Rollyson]

As portrayed in her own words, Marilyn Monroe emerges as thoughtful and accomplished -- not characteristics that most biographies emphasize. She had marvelous taste and could decorate a house or cook a meal with panache. Photographs in this book document her avid reading and her craving for the classics. Her diaries, letters and notes record responses to literature even as they reflect the misspellings and grammatical errors of an earnest but self-educated artist.

Monroe's unstable aspect certainly makes an appearance in this handsomely illustrated volume, complete with facsimiles of her writing. She was beset with self-consciousness so severe it disturbed her concentration while acting and made it difficult for her to manage everyday life. She believed in the efficacy of psychoanalysis, but she was quick to realize that mental institutions often infantilized patients. During her own incarceration (that is how she saw it) at the Payne Whitney Clinic she observed: "Oh, well, men are climbing to the moon but don't seem interested in the beating human heart."

This witty woman, reacting to her acting teacher's complaints about her tardiness, taunted him by reprising her dumb blonde secretary lines from "Monkey Business." Lee Strasberg never got the joke. The Marilyn Monroe of this book was no joke -- to quote a line from Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," "Attention must be paid.

[Ken Ronkowitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have long believed that I would have had a lot to talk about with Marilyn Monroe if I spent some time with her.

You tell someone that and you get a roll of the eyes and maybe some snide joke or remark.

This is a collection of notes to herself, letters, and poems in Marilyn’s own handwriting that haven't been previously published.

Yeah, it's cashing in on her name for some people, but I'm glad that they made it into a book.

Should I feel guilty about reading this?

Is it great writing? No, but it's pretty honest stuff.

And it does feel a bit voyeuristic to be flipping through her photos, notebooks, and things she typed or scribbled on hotel stationery.

In about a year and a half it will be 50 years since she died. It's about time to get to some truth.

[Moonlight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many fans don't understand what responsibility they place on the object of their lust. Also, no one cares how the day spent this lust, what's his mood, what this person want to talk about, or just talk "silently"? What is in the soul of this person and what story s/ he has behind her/him. Fond of the screen image, so real that no one thinks that a person with the responsibility assigned to him simply ceases to be himself. Fans need "meat and blood," tearing the person in half, calling this as love. They completely forget that the one they love will soon lose oxygen as there is no way to breath when there is too much on ur shoulders.
Popular people choose the path to the "stars" for different reasons, someone wants to succeed as remembering how Many ppl didn't believe s/he can do it. Someone in order not to feel lonely, get the love that was lost in childhood, forgetting that no one likes us real and loneliness very often does not depend on a million people around, but only on the state of your soul and Just one person next door who will understand and support you. Someone uses their glory for the use of others, because it is so easy in the presence of popularity, appearance and money to make ppl lost their minds , to those who are not at all interested in your inner being. Someone is just happy that fate smiled and gave them a chance to do what they love so much. Subsequently, there is dependence, from cameras, from rumors , from heightened attention, from the fact that everything is so easy and not forced, it is much easier to arrange things in society, you just need to smile and it does not matter that you want to cry so much.
We all forget that people who have achieved something have not always received everything easily and simply, someone has a painful history behind them, but no one wants to hear It, for the image that was created. And thoughts, understanding, feelings that's just a second plan if not the third.
I was never a fan of Marilyn Monroe, Her screen image was too sugary for me. But I wanted to hear something deep and tempting not superficial, which everyone can think of without referring to facts, and reasoning about a person only by his external data, but wanted to know something deeper, something that is hidden from the other eyes, what is possible and Destroyed the image of the most desirable and sexy woman of the twentieth century. Beginning to read the book, Her confession, I was so imbued that it seemed to me that she was Marilyn, sitting opposite me and telling me her confession, "through the thorns to the star," that ppl should sometimes to be afraid of their desire, because they have Magic to come true. About her fears and loneliness, which she carried through her whole life and about how much she wanted someone to want to see Her real and how much she wanted to live!
Многие фанаты не понимают какую ответственность они возлагают на предмет своего вожделения. Также никого не интересует какой день провёл этот предмет вожделения, какое у него настроение, о чем хочется поговорить или просто поговорить "молча"? Что на душе у этого человека и какая история у него за плечами. Полюбившийся экранный образ , так реален , что никто не задумывается , что человек с возлагаемой на него ответственностью просто перестаёт быть собой. Фанатам нужно"мясо и кровь", разрывая человека пополам скрывая все за словами любви. Они совсем забывают, что так полюбившемуся им человеку , они перекрывают доступ к кислороду.
Популярные люди выбирают путь к "звёздам" по разным причинам, кто-то желает добиться успеха на зло всем тем, кто в них не верил. Кто-то для того, чтобы не чувствовать себя одиноким, получить ту любовь, которую недополучили в детстве, забывая о том, что никто не любит нас настоящими и одиночество очень часто не зависит от миллиона людей вокруг, а всего лишь от состОяния твоей души и всего лишь одного человека рядом, который поймёт и поддержит тебя. Кто-то пользуется своей славой для использования других, ведь так легко при наличии популярности, внешности и денег вскружить окружающим голову, тем кому совершенно не интересно твоё нутро. Кто-то просто счастлив , что судьба улыбнулась и подарила им шанс заниматься тем, что им так любимо и дорого. Впоследствии появляется зависимость, от камер, от сплетен, от повышенного внимания, от того , что вроде все так легко и не принуждённо, расположения в обществе добиться намного проще, просто нужно улыбаться и не важно, что так хочется плакать.
Мы все забываем, что добившиеся чего-то люди не всегда получили все легко и просто, у кого-то целая болезненная истории за плечами, но никто не хочет слышать Ее, ведь так прекрасен образ который был создан и думать, понимать, сопереживать отходит на второй план.
Я никогда не была фанаткой Мэрилин Монро, Ее экранный образ был слишком приторным для меня. Но так манила история, не поверхностная , та которую может придумать каждый не ссылаясь на факты , а рассуждая о человеке только по его внешним данным, а хотелось узнать, что-то глубже, то, что скрыто от других глаз, то, что возможно и разрушило бы образ самой желанной и сексуальной женщины ХХ века. Начав читать книгу, Ее исповедь, я прониклась настолько, что мне казалось , что вот она Мэрилин , сидит напротив меня и рассказывает мне свою исповедь, "через тернии к звездой", о том, что своих желание иногда нужно бояться, так как они имеют свойство сбываться. О своих страхах и одиночестве, которое она пронесла, через все свою жизнь и о том как сильно она хотела , чтобы кто-то хотел увидеть Ее настоящей и как сильно ей хотелось жить !

[Justine Dumas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tellement un beau livre. Il est triste de se dire qu’une femme si intelligente et profonde soit seulement reconnue pour son physique…

Par contre, il n’y a rien de bien exceptionnel dans ce livre. Il est interessant d’entrer dans la tête de cette figure iconique mais je me sentais un peu en mode voyeurisme.

[shona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marylin was so misunderstood I love her so much♥️♥️

[Jordan Peursem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geweldig boek! Geeft veel inkijk over haar manier van denken, doen en laten.

[Niklas Pivic · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Lee Strasberg's eulogy at Marilyn Monroe's funeral:

Marilyn Monroe was a legend.

In her own lifetime she created a myth of what a poor girl from a deprived background could attain. For the entire world she became a symbol of the eternal feminine.

But I have no words to describe the myth and the legend. I did not know this Marilyn Monroe. We gathered here today, knew only Marilyn - a warm human being, impulsive and shy, sensitive and in fear of rejection, yet ever avid for life and reaching out for fulfillment.

This collection of letters that Marilyn never sent, notes, diary-like entries, thoughts ranging from her first, failed marriage, up to a run-through of answers to interview questions just before her death, is a very intimate collection.

In the notes - mostly written by herself but also through typed transcriptions by her assistant - and the diary-entries, Marilyn goes through an array of emotions regarding a variety of subjects, persons, projects and other matters, ranging from her psychoanalysis, her seemingly constant self-questioning and self-doubt, to happiness, being married, succeeding with her own production company and of course, on reading.

This brings a very different image of the person, rather than the very two-dimensional, simple creature that some seem to prefer her to be.

Her honesty is key here, to me. Her writing reeks of honesty and is very interesting, especially when she writes of her fears, examining her past and considering her future, notably through the founding of her own production company (taking on MGM by doing so), which is professionally no small feat.

She seems to have been very self-critical. She doesn't dump down on anybody else in these notes.

As a poet, she is quite rough; not my cup of tea, and the lyrics don't seem to have been worked over much. Still, these are notes grabbed from a box in a garage. It's not like she attempted to get them published.

All in all, it's an accomplished bunch of pieces from a very talented, intelligent and seemingly pleasant and honest person's life. I wish she'd get more recognition for all of the things for which she's not most famous, but that's show business, I guess.

[Robert Colomer · Rating 5 out of 5]

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I am just reading this book as we speak,but I will say this,Fragments is a gripping and moving revelation of the Marilyn Monroe we have never met. It is a must read for anyone who shares the limited understanding of her persona developed over the nearly 50 years since her death. This gripping book presents her in a more appropriate and balanced light. Marilyn Monroe expressed her thoughts wherever she was on whatever was handy, using notebooks and scraps of paper, including hotel stationery. She wrote of her perceived shortcomings, frequently self-analyzing in a prescient manner. Reading her Diary,and The way she thinks,really shows another,side of Marilyn,We never have seen before,it's fascinating.The Authors have put a copy of her typed and handwritten notes on the left page and a typed copy on the right so that the reader can see her thought process as she wrote and edited. Her use of arrows to connect and rearrange thoughts and paragraphs is a technique some of us remember all too well from the days before the home computer was invented! I'm still reading this,and I will give you more thoughts about it when I'm done..

[Meg - A Bookish Affair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usually when one thinks of Marilyn Monroe, they think of a gorgeous, blonde sex symbol. This book displays another side to her that few have heard of. Monroe was an avid reader and sometimes writer with an interest in psychoanalysis.

I'm a huge Marilyn Monroe fan so I was interested to read this book to get a different view of her. It's a really interesting look at a person that is still so well known and beloved by so many. Some of the psychoanalysis is not the most exciting but I enjoyed reading some of Monroe's poetry.

Here's one that I particularly enjoyed:

Only parts of us will ever
touch parts of others-
one's own truth is just
that really- one's own truth
We can only share the
part that is within another's knowing acceptance
so one
is for the most part alone.
As it is meant to be in
evidently in nature- at best perhaps it could make
our understanding seek
another's loneliness out

[Anika · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been a fan of Marilyn since I was a little girl. I’ve read several biographies of her over the years, but this is a different sort of book. It’s a collection put together by an editor of poems, notes, and letters all written by Marilyn herself. It’s not exactly a cohesive collection, but the editor breaks it up well into sections. The book is an interesting glimpse into Marilyn’s life and thoughts, but also a rather sad one. Reading about her sadness and hopelessness in a biography is one thing, but reading them from her own pen is quite another. What also comes across is her constant search to better herself and understand the world around her. I’d say it’s definitely worth the read for an avid Marilyn fan.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read an excerpt of this book in Vanity Fair, and I was intrigued. I can report that the best parts were in fact in Vanity Fair. This book has some gorgeous photographs, but very little content - it shows the writings of a woman who was very confused, and feels intrusive and depressing. Save your money unless you are absolutely Marilyn obsessed.

[Jana Gutiérrez Kerns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable. The reader sees her own handwriting, the depth of her emotion, sensitivity, and even brilliance. She was more savvy and composed than people think. Very well-read too. The analysis of these written archives is very interesting too. What a loss in her early and mysterious death. But what a find in these intriguing and revealing fragments.

[Aleksa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bilo je zanimljivo čitati ovu knjgu. Merilin je bila daleko više od onoga kako su je predstavljali. Bila je inteligentna, načitana, talentovana, glumica ispred svog vremena, ali i nesrećna, tužna i usamljena. Deluje mi da je i kada je postala Merilin Monro i dalje bila ona tužna mala Norma Džin.

[Jillian Ferry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marilyn’s poems and letters are shown during her lifetime as she expresses her emotions of having anxiety and depression while trying to maintain a marriage and career.
“Still one can change but won’t”