Her
Mary MacLane (1881-1929) was the first of the modern media personalities: a pioneer in self-revelation, in defiance of established rules, in living on her own terms - and writing about it. At age 19 she burst upon the world out of Butte, Montana with a journal of her private thoughts and longings that brought national then international attention. Through the books and newspaper articles that followed she created a completely new, individual voice decades ahead of its time. She influenced Gertrude Stein, inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald, and was hailed by America’s greatest writers and everyday people on the street. And though she inspires film, stage, and music projects to this day - though she is quoted on and off the Internet - the writer behind the writing has remained unknown until now.
Us
Michael R. Brown is the foremost MacLane researcher in the world today. He published the acclaimed MacLane anthology Tender Darkness and more recently authored the well-reviewed experimental memoir She and I: A Fugue. He is completing the first book ever on MacLane’s life, career, and influence for publication in 2012. He lives in Northern California. Bojana Novakovic is an Australian Film Inst. award-winning film, stage and television actress, translator, director, playwright, and co-Artistic-Director of Ride On Theatre. She debuts her original stage interpretation The Story of Mary MacLane - by Herself in November 2011, playing the title role. She makes her home in Melbourne, Australia.
It
HUMAN DAYS: A MARY MACLANE READER features the complete texts of all her books (with expurgated passages restored), her colorful newspaper writing (much of it never before reprinted), an intriguing 1902 interview, the first viewing ever of her striking personal letters, illuminating introductions to each era in her life, and comprehensive notes that open the door to her influences and the age that she came from and impacted so strikingly. A foreword from actress Bojana Novakovic provides a contemporary artist’s creative appreciation of MacLane’s still-powerful effect upon readers.
Them
“One of the most fascinatingly self-involved personalities of the 20th century.” - The Age (2011). “Mary MacLane comes off the page quivering with life. Moving.” - London Times. “Her first book was the first of the confessional diaries ever written in this country, and it was a sensation.” - N.Y .Times. “The first of the self-expressionists, and also the first of the Flappers.” - Chicagoan “Miss MacLane stands as the greatest sensationalist of a sensational day ... She dares to tell to all the world what most people try to keep profoundly guarded ... She stands for truth and dares the courage of her convictions.” - From hundreds of letters-to-the-editor on her first book
Soon
For 2012: the first complete study of MacLane’s life, career, and influence, A Quite Unusual Intensity of Life: A Mary MacLane Anthology tells the inside story of how she went from a 19-year-old girl in Butte, Montana writing in her diary - to a media personality heatedly discussed in London, Paris, and Sydney.
Co-author Chiara di Benedetto, linguist and historian, says: “Mary MacLane’s impact is not just historical. Though she became famous (or infamous) in her day, she was not well-understood by her own society. Her writing anticipated the sophisticated self-knowledge and wry brand of social criticism that would emerge only after the First World War and the rise of modernism. Her forays into surrealism and metaphysical imagery, free expressions of unconventional sexuality, and many subtle layers of play and self-mockery put her beyond the understanding of her contemporaries - and make her fascinating and fresh to those newly discovering her today. We still feel a sense of shock and recognition at a young woman exposing herself at the deepest levels, with such uncanny insight into herself and into human nature. Mary MacLane’s work feels current and relevant to today’s readers.”
This new book tells her whole, extraordinary story for the first time. It will be released in late 2012 by Petrarca Press.