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Finding Aid of the Myron Brinig Memoirs, circa 1980sUniversity of New Mexico, University Libraries, Center for Southwest ResearchEmail: cswrref@unm.eduURL: http://elibrary.unm.edu/cswr/ © 2010 The University of New Mexico
Biography / HistoryMyron Brinig, a Jewish-American writer, published twenty-one novels between 1929 and 1958. He is remembered for being one of the first authors to create homosexual characters. A homosexual himself, he remained publicly closeted all of his life. Born in Minneapolis on December 22, 1897, Brinig moved with his family to Butte, Montana where his father opened a dry-goods store that catered to the needs of copper miners. In 1914 Brinig left Butte to study at New York University. Brinig wrote short stories and submitted them for publication without any luck until a friend connected him with Bob Davis editor for Munsey’s Magazine. He published his first novel with Doubleday, Doran & Company called Madonna Without Child (1929), a character study of a woman obsessed with someone else's child. When his editor joined Stanley Rinehart to form a new publishing house, Brinig followed. Farrar & Rinehart published Singermann (1929), the story of Moses Singermann, his wife Rebecca, and their six children and the erosion of their family’s traditional Jewish values in America. In 1933, Brinig went to Taos, New Mexico to visit the modernist painter Cady Wells. While in Taos, he met Mabel Dodge Luhan, who took a liking to Brinig and invited him to stay with her. Brinig and Wells spent that summer in Luhan's pink guest house. He and Wells lived together as lovers for the rest of that year and most of the next. In 1935 Brinig moved to San Francisco without Wells. He resumed writing in 1936 and created his best-seller, The Sisters (1937). Warner Brothers bought the film rights to The Sisters casting Bette Davis and Errol Flynn as the lead roles. Warner Brothers released the movie in 1938 and it performed well at the box office. With the money Brinig made from the film, he bought a house in Taos where he lived for the next 16 years and continued publishing his novels. By the 1950s, Brinig’s career waned. His later books were poorly received and some literary critics ignored reviewing Brinig’s works, perhaps because of his perceived homosexuality. His work fell into obscurity. He moved back to Manhattan, lived with his lover, and spent time at a First Avenue bar, called The Closet, where he could be himself. Brinig died on May 13, 1991 at the age of 94. Scope and ContentThis collection consists of two versions of Brinig’s unpublished memoir. John Farrar of Rhinehart and Farrar was Brinig's original editor. The older version is titled “Someone at the Door: Memoirs of an Outsider." In 1981, Brinig brought this memoir to Earl Ganz to edit for publication. They titled the updated version “Love from a Stranger." Both manuscripts recount Brinig’s Jewish heritage, his early life as a writer and work in the Hollywood film industry and his time spent in Taos with other writers and artists including, Cady Wells, Frieda von Richthofen Lawrence and Mabel Dodge Luhan. Also, in the memoirs Brinig openly discusses his homosexuality, a fact he kept private most of his life. Using Brinig’s memoirs, Earl Ganz published a novel in 2006 called The Taos Truth Game, which is based on Brinig’s time in Taos and his relationship with Cady Wells. Ganz also published an essay, "Brinig: The Truth Game" in Writing Montana: Literature Under the Big Sky that provides additional insight into Brinig and his memoirs. RestrictionsAccess RestrictionsThe collection is open for research. Copy RestrictionsLimited duplication of print and manuscript material allowed for research purposes. User is responsible for all copyright compliance. Permission is required for publications or distribution. Preferred CitationMyron Brinig Memoirs (MSS 864), Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections, University of New Mexico Libraries Related Archival MaterialDorothy Brett Papers, Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico Frank Waters Papers, Center for Southwest Research, University Libraries, University of New Mexico Access TermsAuthors, American – 20th century -- Biography Jewish authors – United States -- Biography Lawrence, Frieda von Richthofen, 1879-1956 Taos (N.M.) – Social life and customs – 20th century Contents List
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