A literary birthday: Anaïs Nin

Anaïs Nin is one of my favourite writers of all time. And not for her erotica, for which she is most famous. The first time I picked up Anaïs Nin's diaries, it changed me. I don't think I've ever been the same since.

Nin shifted my perspectives, opened me up like a flower & taught me sensitivity, poetry in all things, sensuality, and self-analysis. Yes, I'll admit the woman was a little nuts (at the time of her death she had 2 husbands who knew nothing of one another, in different parts of the country; not to mention her weird relationship with her father) but aside from that I know I'm not the only one her writing, and her spirit, touched. She was an intoxicating muse, a financial aid to artists she thought needed her help (though she had no real money herself), and a true disciple of art & beauty.

I encourage anyone to pick up one of her journals & discover this demon-chaser, this wild woman, this poetess, this creature of undulating sensuality, still today ablaze with life.