The Promised Party: Kahlo, Basquiat and Me

by Jennifer Clement

Growing up in ’60s Mexico City, Jennifer Clement lived next door to Frida Kahlo’s house. It was an unorthodox and bohemian childhood, living alongside artists, communists, revolutionaries and poets, and one that allowed an awakening of creative freedom and curiosity about the world.

Leaving behind the revolutions in Latin America for the burgeoning counter-culture scene in ’80s New York, Clement quickly became a fixture on the art scene, inhabiting the world of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Colette Lumiere and William Burroughs, and frequenting The Mudd Club, Danceteria and Studio 54.

From the author of cult classic Widow Basquiat, this memoir is a tale of two cities and their artists. It recreates the fury, ecstasy and danger that made ’70s Mexico City and ’80s New York two of the greatest places to be young, free and alive.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Art, Biography Memoir, Biography

304 pages, Paperback

Published May 20, 2025

About the author

Jennifer Clement is President Emerita of the human rights and freedom of expression organization PEN International and the only woman to hold the office of President (2015-2021) since the organization was founded in 1921. Under her leadership, the groundbreaking PEN International Women’s Manifesto and The Democracy of the Imagination Manifesto were created. As President of PEN Mexico (2009-2012), Clement was instrumental in changing the law to make the crime of killing a journalist a federal crime.

Clement is author of the novels A True Story Based on Lies, The Poison That Fascinates, Prayers for the Stolen, Gun Love and Stormy People as well as several poetry books including Poems and Errors, published by Kaunitz-Olsson in Sweden. Clement also wrote the acclaimed memoir Widow Basquiat on New York City in the early 1980’s and the painter Jean-Michel Basquiat, which NPR named best book of 2015 in seven different categories. Her memoir The Promised Party will be published in early 2024. Clement’s books have been translated into 38 languages and have covered topics such as the stealing of little girls in Mexico, the effects of gun violence and trafficking of guns into Mexico and Central America as well as writing about her life in the art worlds of Mexico and New York.



Clement is the recipient of Guggenheim, NEA, MacDowell and Santa Maddalena Fellowships and her books have twice been a New York Times Editor’s Choice Book. Prayers for the Stolen was the recipient of the Grand Prix des Lectrices Lyceenes de ELLE(sponsored by ELLE Magazine, the French Ministry of Education and the Maison des écrivains et de la littérature) and a New Statesman Book of the Year, picked by the Nobel Laureate Kazuo Ishiguro. Gun Love was an Oprah Book Club Selection as well as being a National Book Award and Aspen Words Literary Prize finalist. Time magazine, among other publications, named it one of the top 10 books of 2018. At NYU she was the commencement speaker for the Gallatin graduates of 2017 and she gave the Lectio Magistralis in Florence, Italy for the Premio Gregor von Rezzori. Clement is a member of Mexico’s prestigious Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte.



For Clement’s work in human rights, she was awarded the HIP Award for contribution to Latino Communities by the Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) Organization as well as being the recipient of the Sara Curry Humanitarian Award. Most recently, she was given the 2023 Freedom of Expression Honorary title on the occasion of World Press Day by Brussels University Alliance VUB and ULB in partnership with the European Commission, European Endowment for Democracy and UNESCO among others. Other laureates include Svetlana Alexievich, Zhang Zhan, Ahmet Altan, Daphne Caruana Galizia and Raif Badawi, among others.



Jennifer Clement was raised in Mexico where she lives. She and her sister Barbara Sibley founded and direct the San Miguel Poetry Week. Clement has a double major in anthropology and English Literature from New York University (Gallatin) and an MFA from University of Southern Maine (Stonecoast). She was named a Distinguished Alumna by the Kingswood Cranbrook School.

Reviews

[Dredheza Maloku · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this given the fact it's memoir and split into two sections (Mexico City, then New York), as well as revolves around Frida Kahlo and Basquiat. Not sure why I thought this would be any better than the author's previous memoir, WIDOW BASQUIAT, which I read years ago and was underwhelmed by. Something about her style should be working for me, but just isn't. The sentences feels disjointed when on the page yet work on their own, so the reading experience feels disorienting. I did love certain evocations of Mexico City and its artistic/cultural history but overall this felt like too much of a name-droppy/look how many cool, famous artists I've brushed shoulders with, type book with a lack of substance. Weirdly distancing.

[Karenina (Nina Ruthström) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Möjligen håller Löftet om en fest vad den lovar för den som var med i New York på åttiotalet, fast det är tveksamt. För mig är det här långt ifrån en läsfest. Hade jag inte fått boken som recensionsexemplar hade jag avbrutit (vilket jag nästan aldrig gör). Jag tyckte mycket om En bön för de stulna och hoppades att den här skulle vara något i stil med Den ensamma staden, men det här är en fragmentarisk livsberättelse med tunt allmänintresse. Det mesta här säger mig just ingenting och väcker inte min nyfikenhet att ta reda på mer. Jag blir inte berörd och undrar inte vad som ska komma härnäst. Jag halvsover mig igenom dryga 300 sidor anekdoter och namedroping, knark, pälsar, tyll, läppstift, flärd, pseudopsykologi, häxeri, partyn och balla brudar. Doftkort på bio och Mexico Citys sista snö (1967) får mig att vakna till, kortvarigt. Ett tag är det irritation som håller mig vaken. Hon delger hur andra människor gör bort sig men visar själv ingen sårbarhet.

”Jag hade väntat mig en vanlig gul taxi men Suzanne hämtade mig i en svart limousine. Hon hade en jättelik svart stråhatt som nästan var som ett paraply på huvudet. Jag hade en lång svart sidenblus över blåjeansen och en blå och svart mexikansk rebozsjal och stora mexianska örhängen från Oaxaca.”

Jag är inte intresserad av mina egna gamla dagboksanteckningar, varför jag skulle vara det av Jennifer Clements har hon inte övertygat mig om.

[Frue_s · Rating 4 out of 5]

Underbart fragmentariskt om uppväxten i Mexico city och livet kring konstscenen i New York på 80-talet.

[Koen De Bock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book thinking it was about Frieda Kahlo and Jean-Michel Basquiat. It’s not. I should be angry about the false advertising on the cover, but I’m not. This book is a wonderful and very evocative memoir of growing up in Mexico in the 60s and 70s and being young in New York at the turn of the 80s. I loved it and am very thankful to the editor who decided to sell more books by adding two artist names (of the many who figure or play a part in the book) on the cover. My only quibble is that the book made me like Andy Warhol less.

[art · Rating 4 out of 5]

one my first reads of the year and one of the best reads to start the year with. This book is a vibe and I devoured every bit of it! A memoir about Jennifer Clemet’s life from early childhood to adulthood with a focus on art, culture, history, artists and relationships within the artistic context. A short but powerful read, filled with beautiful experiences and inspiring moments in life.

[Sholeh Wolpé · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful short chapter by short chapter journey. I highly recommend it.

[Lotten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jag har läst två böcker av Jennifer Clement, Gun Love och Prayers for the stolen, som jag tyckte var oerhört bra. Så när jag såg att en ny bok kommit av henne så blev jag mycket intresserad. Vad jag missade var dels att den är självbiografisk, dels att det finns kopplingar till Basquiats änka som jag inte läst. Därför blev starten av min läsning lite trög. Men allt eftersom jag kom in i hur Jennifer Clement berättar sin historia, desto mer gillade jag Löftet om en fest.

Jennifer Clements familj flyttade till Mexiko när hon var liten och hon växte upp i Mexiko. Som 16-åring återvände hon till USA, men som jag förstått det bor hon nu återigen i Mexiko. Jennifer Clement är en intressant person, och har exempelvis varit ordförande i PEN International. Vi lyssnade på ett seminarium på Bokmässan 2022 där hon var med. Att hon är en intressant person visar hon också i Löftet om en fest. Jag kan sorgligt lite om Mexiko, och relationen till USA, vilket tydligt märks när jag läser Löftet om en fest. Det blir mycket lärorikt googlande vid sidan om läsningen, vilket förstärker att jag lär mig saker (vilket jag gillar) men också gör läsningen lite hackig. Framförallt är det mexikansk kultur jag lär mig saker om, men det blir också politik, då de hänger ihop.

Löftet om en fest är en ärlig historia, berättad på ett speciellt sätt. Det är korta stycken, korta kapitel, och det är inte alltid tydligt vad som är poängen. Samtidigt finns det en slingrande röd tråd. Det är många personer som går in och ut i berättelsen, många som är kända, men också en del okända. De kretsar som Jennifer Clement rörde sig i som barn och även de som vuxen, är främst fyllda med konstnärer, författare och andra kulturarbetare. Hon beskriver en del av deras verk, och hur de kopplar till verkligheten. En nackdel är att texten blir tung av kända personer, det är namedropping, och för någon som inte är insatt blir det för mycket. Men sättet att skriva tycker jag om. Det är svårt att beskriva hur Löftet om en fest är uppbyggd, det är nästan organiskt. Man vet inte var den börjar och var den slutar. Det märks att Jennifer Clement är poet.


Betyg: 4

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a vividly and artfully written memoir about a childhood in Mexico City and a young adulthood in Manhattan. Clement was fortunate to be born to an American couple who decided Mexico City’s vibrant cultural scene in the 50s and 60s was the right place to build a life. The neighborhood in which Clement lived and the other neighborhoods she frequented were filled with the memories of legendary talents (Rivera, Kayla) and the presence of equally legendary talents (Paz, Rulfo, Garcia Marquez.) It may be challenging for American readers to accept the fact that cultural life in Mexico equals and often exceeds cultural life in the U.S., but the Lower Manhattan Clement describes in the 1980s makes the contrast clear. She flourished in a scene that was grungy and much less serious than she’d experienced in Mexico City, her acquaintance with Basquiat and Warhol notwithstanding. This didn’t damage her literary skill; in fact, her time studying at NYU and participating in poetry groups and readings strengthened her writing—that’s obvious—but it’s simply clear that the comical, defiant, whimsical, druggy world in the cultural capital north of the border was second-rate compared to the cultural capital south of the border.

[Elise Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was the best of times….

Jennifer Clement takes the reader to, and deep into, the “Promised Party” in this evocative and compelling memoir told by an astute observer of some truly interesting events. Clement brings you into her colorful and well-lived life, a life filled with artists and thinkers and rebels. It’s great fun to read; and if you lived in downtown NYC in the late 70s and 80s you will especially appreciate how vividly this unique moment in time is brought back to life.

[Chris Deeks · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the author of the cult classic ‘Widow Basquiat’, comes ‘The Promised Party’, an unorthodox memoir that is also a tale of two cities. First, a bohemian childhood in 70’s Mexico City, living beside the former residence of Frida Kahlo. Second, New York in the 1980’s and its growing counter culture scene.

Broken into tiny chunks, windows into ideas and moments of time, Clement encourages the reader to piece together her childhood in Mexico - alongside the cast of artists, communists, and poets. Then her time as a young woman, becoming a fixture in the New York art scene, rubbing shoulders with Basquiat, Warhol, Haring, and Burroughs amongst others.

This approach to a memoir left me a little cold. It felt disjointed, empty except for - what felt to me - plenty of name dropping. That being said, the two most significant names (that feature in the title), don’t seem to carry the weight to the story attempting to be told here. As a huge appreciator and fan of Basquiat’s work, this felt like another cash in on his name for a sale. Alongside the fast fashion T-shirts and socks bearing his work. He is present, but in the background. In terms of Frida Kahlo, she is so tertiary to the events of the book, that I really cannot comprehend why she is included in the title.

‘The Promised Party’ is an uninspiring and slightly insipid piece of writing, that failed to deliver on all counts. There are a couple of interesting anecdotes, but not enough to justify a book, perhaps an article in the New Yorker would have better served this writing. Clement promises us a party, with Kahlo and Basquiat in attendance, but fails to deliver. The closest analogy I can think of is the ‘Champagne Papi’ episode of Atlanta, where the mansion party hosted by Drake turns out to be a sham and guests pay $20 to have their picture taken with a cardboard cutout of Drake. I refused to pay my $20 for a photo with cardboard Basquiat and Kahlo.

[Tyler Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting read!

Im a big fan of memoirs especially if it's someone I know or heard of and while I didn't know a lot about Jennifer I had heard of her before. This deeper dive into her life was both captivating and intriguing. I liked that we got to see a spectrum of her life both in Mexico and New York and the difference of her life during those times. Not being alive in the times these were written in gave me a bigger perspective of what life was like in the past! I really enjoyed this more than I originally thought and would definitely recommend this to all the non fiction lovers out there!

[jo-booksy]

Äntligen! En ny bok av Jennifer Clement översatt, hon som är en av mina absoluta favoriter. Och som ebok på biblan dessutom. Jag kan knappt bärga mig. Det går inte! Vet inte hur jag ska göra nu. Är halvvägs på Styr din plog... det kanske går att läsa dem parallellt. Det ordnar sig nog. Just det, "Löftet om en fest" heter boken. Finns inte i databasen ännu, kom ut den 14 juni. Men jag har inte tid att skriva till GR Librarians nu. Det får vänta.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating portrait of a time in two cities. Reminded me of the luck (fate?) of being born in a place and time.

[Kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Be careful what you wish for. How often have I met an amazing woman and worried about the fact that one day, her stories will all die with her? "Just write it all down as it comes to you, random memories. Use scraps of paper, old napkins, the back of receipts, a bus ticket, whatever, whenever, however. Just write it all down, as much as you can remember. I don't need it all to be finished and polished. Just give me the bones and bits of flesh and let me do the rest - I'll assemble the rest of the corpse from imagination (which is really shared memory among women of a certain type).

Somehow Jennifer received my weird transmissions and has done just that. So I can't lie and say I didn't get what I wished for, but there's times when the assemblage becomes grating. There's so much space, figuratively and literally, that at times, filling in the gaps and weaving it together in your mind becomes a little grating.

But.

Despite all that this is a magical memoir that delivers on more than it promises.

[Joanne Leedom-Ackerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poet, novelist, essayist Jennifer has led and leads the life of an activist artist and writer. In her journey she’s met and had friendships, adventures, and misadventures with a wide array of other artists and creative people, including painter Jean-Michel Basquiat and his wife Suzanne Mallouk in New York City and the children and grandchildren of artist Frieda Kahlo, whose house was next door to where she grew up in Mexico City. 
Born of American parents and spending her youth in Mexico, Jennifer offers the reader 100 brightly colored scenes in a vivid mosaic of a memoir. Mosaic, or perhaps pointillist painting, The Promised Party: Kahlo, Basquiat & Me presents these 100 strokes with each scene standing on its own but also  when considered as a whole, they  create  a portrait of an artist and of a young girl  with all the conflicts of family and friends, ambition and heart. 

[Robin Blackburn McBride · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this memoir.

Here, Clement takes us through her bohemian childhood growing up in Mexico City in the 1960s and ‘70s, and her life as a young dancer and writer in 1980s New York. From start to finish, it’s a study of art, ideas, politics, poetry, and fascinating characters—some of whom you’ll recognize.

These short, poetic chapters will wrap you in their rhythms and fascinate you with many extraordinary, often dreamlike, details of Clement’s early life. From playing with Diego Rivera’s granddaughter in the same bathtub where Frida Kahlo once reclined, to living the club scene in New York among writers, dancers, graffiti artists, and painters, including Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, this is an intimate portrait of creative freedom.

[Natalia Dlc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es el único libro que he leído hasta ahora de la autora. Al libro le falta estructura , es como leer paginas de un diario. Pero ohhh le sobra contenido!!! Que vida la de Jennifer, que se codeo con los nietos de Diego Rivera, los hijos de Garcia Marquez, Juan Rulfo, Basquiat, Haring, Warhol. Pero la lista es interminable. Los hechos históricos que narra y los personajes que menciona hacen una lectura rica que retrata primero, una época donde todo el que era perseguido políticamente estaba en Mexico. Los años 60 y 70. Y luego los tremendos 80 en Nueva York con el Studio 54, los artistas contemporáneos , la epidemia del SIDA. Disfrute muchísimo esta linea del tiempo de hechos importantes en mi Pais y en el mundo y conocer mas del mundillo del arte y la cultura.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enchanting lingering read best savoured slowly in its short episodic chapters. From a childhood of myths, magic and mayhem in Mexixo to the anarchic artsy seedy world of NYC from the late 70s, there's art and artists, struggles, tragedies, love and adventures. Written with a poets vision and a friend and lovers tenderness, fondness and remembrance. A work that will linger and infuse my thoughts, much as a whiff of a once treasured scent transports us to other places, people's and times.

[Maye Ruiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encantó este libro.

Fue como leer un TV Novelas, con personajes tan fascinantes y relevantes que muchos creerían que Jennifer está mintiendo.

Incluso si estuviera mientiendo y todo se lo sacó de Wikipedia, me encantó.

Sentí nostalgia y me contagió su enorme amor por México, que si bien, los relatos sobre NYC (que me recordaron a Just Kids de Patty Smith) me gustaron, adoré los recuerdos de su infancia en la gran Tenochtitlán.

10/10 este libro.

[Shannon Clinton-Copeland · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this, given I am a self-proclaimed vignette-obsessee and also eat up non-fiction (and fiction) about the New York arts scene in the 60s, 70s and 80s. But the total lack of narrative or cohesion was just too much. It was an interesting picture of the creators and thinkers who ran in Clement’s circles, but it struggled ultimately to come together.

[Adriana Oh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Después de la viuda Basquiat, me quedé encantada con la escritura y memorias de J.C.
Disfruté mucho más buscar y aprender de todas las referencias, pintores, escritores, lugares de las que Jennifer habla a lo largo del libro.
Qué envidia todo lo que ha vivido! Es una artista!
Recomiendo muchísimo este libro si amas el mundo del arte y la literatura.

[Joanie Bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an intriguing memoir! I enjoyed the short snippet chapters that so brilliantly captured Clement’s life! I loved the way she portrayed Mexico City in the 60’s and 70’s and then the wild 80’s in New York City! Her writing carries a different kind of energy and spark. It was a fascinating read. In my mind, the book is a treasure.

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and readable, a memoir told in short scenes that sheds light on Clement's life as an American Mexican child growing up in Mexico City, her life and friends in New York during the 70s and 80s (art, sex, drugs and Studio 54)...into the era of AIDS, and back to her beloved Mexico. Highly recommend.

[Margareta Wedmark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Otroligt tråkig biografi fylld av namedropping och mycket egoberöm - undrar varifrån jag fått denna rekommendationen? I någon recension kanske eller så var titeln lockande?? Denna bok kan ni hoppa över.

[Holly Woodward · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing memoir of a brilliant life.
I was stunned by the characters and vivid moments in this book.
Couldn't put it down.

[Kenneth Gray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, an infuriatingly disjointed memoir.

[Linnéa Löfdahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Malin Hjertén · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vild, full av liv. Nog bäst i små portioner, så man verkligen hinner uppskatta berättelserna.

[Ashleyyyyy Con Y Griega · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arte e inspiración pura. 🥂

[Maria Ramadan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone needs to read this at some point in their life.