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Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters

Fragments is an event―an unforgettable book that will redefine one of the greatest icons of the twentieth century and that, nearly fifty years after her death, will definitively reveal Marilyn Monroe's humanity.Marilyn's image is so universal that we can't help but believe we know all there is to know of her. Every word and gesture made headlines and garnered controversy. Her serious gifts as an actor were sometimes eclipsed by her notoriety―and by the way the camera fell helplessly in love with her.Beyond the headlines―and the too-familiar stories of heartbreak and desolation―was a woman far more curious, searching, witty, and hopeful than the one the world got to know. Now, for the first time, readers can meet the private Marilyn and understand her in a way we never have before. Fragments is an unprecedented collection of written artifacts―notes to herself, letters, even poems―in Marilyn's own handwriting, never before published, along with rarely seen intimate photos.Jotted in notebooks, typed on paper, or written on hotel letterhead, these texts reveal a woman who loved deeply and strove to perfect her craft. They show a Marilyn Monroe unsparing in her analysis of her own life, but also playful, funny, and impossibly charming. The easy grace and deceptive lightness that made her performances indelible emerge on the page, as does the simmering tragedy that made her last appearances so affecting.

Paperback: 256 pages

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (October 16, 2012)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0374533784

ISBN-13: 978-0374533786

Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 0.6 x 10 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (141 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #117,563 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #60 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Essays & Correspondence > Letters #221 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Movies > History & Criticism #999 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Actors & Entertainers

Was there a film star as famous as Marilyn Monroe? A star that became even more famous in death then in life. In the end all we know of her is what other people have written, or the photographs that were taken of her. All of it, the writing, the images, it has all been staged to make us think whatever it is the crafter wished us to respond to. All of it until NOW.With this book Fragments, we have for the first time what Marilyn thought, what she wrote, and how she was. We see her gifts as a person and her craft, not the image, not the notoriety. In the 1950's she came to New York and grew very close to Lee Strasberg, who was the head of the Actor's Studio. Strasberg who we all know as the Meyer Lansky type figure in the second Godfather movie was very enamored of Marilyn as we all were.The funniest line in the book is when Strasberg who is a stickler for being on time complains to her about being timely for meetings. She says she simply cannot be on time. Strasberg's response was, "Then be early."When she died in the summer of 1962, she left her belongings to Strasberg who was married to a much younger woman Anna. Years later, Anna went through the boxes that Marilyn had entrusted to Strasberg. Mrs. Strasberg came across a collection of writings on random pieces of paper such as hotel stationery, envelopes, and a series of different notebooks never completed. The writings also included poems, some finished, some unfinished.Much of the material was written in a disjointed fashion, with scribing and cross outs, sentences started here, and finished somewhere else. Marilyn had her own way of doing things.

Marilyn Monroe was apparently a very lonely person in a sea of endless admirers. She once wrote: "Alone!!!!! I am alone - I am always alone no matter what" From this book we also learn that Marilyn Monroe was a tortured soul who was also disorderly and who wrote down thoughts in a very chaotic way. If you want to try to read her notes written in notebooks and on envelopes or torn-out pages, I'd suggest you get the actual book. While it is possible (with great difficulty) to read some of the typed letters it is nearly impossible to read the handwritten notes. Marilyn's handwriting is nearly illegible.What is surprising is how confident Marilyn Monroe appears in her movies and how insecure she felt in real life. Even more shocking is that such a beautiful soul was depressed and wished she was dead! Some of her poems indicate this.Also, from such a sexy person you would expect a much larger amount of sensual writing. There is one note about not wearing a bra and this made her feel sensual. But other than this one note and a poem about one of her husbands, she seems silent on this subject. Instead what she says about her marriage is this: "I think to love bravely is the best and accept-as much as one can bear."What I loved most about this book is the great quantity of black-and-white photographs throughout, especially any picture where Marilyn is reading. It was also surprising to read that she owned a library of 400 books!While many of the poems in this book are revealing, the lines I love best reveal a profound beauty of soul: "but strong as a cobweb in the wind - I exist more with the cold glistening frost."If she had not died at such a young age, I imagine she would have written many more beautiful poems.

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