An enduring symbol of the triumph of free speech over censorship, Henry Miller is best known for his groundbreaking and controversial novel, The Tropic of Cancer (1934). Famously linked to Anais Nin, as well as a string of wives including the mysterious June, Miller's books were the some of the first to explicitly detail sexual relationships and encounters, causing his books to be banned in his native United States until the mid-sixties.

Born December 26, 1891 in New York City, Miller spent his early years meandering through the city, working odd jobs and briefly attending the City College of New York. In the late twenties, Miller, along with his then-wife June, joined a burgeoning community of American writers in Paris. A tangled web of relationships ensued over the next few years as Miller, June, Nin, and the Miller's friend Jean Kronski, formed interchangeable sexual and emotional partnerships. These relationships were the inspiration for Miller's early work. Now an expatriate, Miller was virtually dependent on benefactors such as Nin for financial support. Despite a small income from his job as a proofreader for the Chicago Tribune (Paris Edition), it was Nin who provided the capital for the first printing of The Tropic of Cancer. While in Paris, Miller also wrote Black Spring (1936) and The Tropic of Capricorn (1939), both of which, along with Cancer, were banned in the U.S. Forgoing legal channels, these books were smuggled into Miller's homeland and subsequently gained a strong underground following, including Miller's vocal supporter, George Orwell.

In 1940, Miller returned to America, settling in Big Sur, California. Others followed, and the area soon became a popular artist's colony. Miller continued to write, undeterred by the cultural and legal opposition to his attitudes and style, deemed both amoral and obscene. In 1961, The Tropic of Cancer was published in the United States, leading to a series of obscenity trials. The United States Supreme Court eventually overturned State Court decisions in Grove Press, Inc vs. Gerstein (1964). The book was finally declared a work of literature and the decision opened the floodgates for other authors of the Sexual Revolution era. Miller lived out the rest of his life in California and developed his talents as both a painter and musician. Henry Miller died June 7, 1980 in Pacific Palisades, CA. 

Articles About Miller, Henry

Henry Miller and The Dance of Life	February 4, 2007
The art of living is based on rhythm - on give and take, ebb and flow, light and dark, life and death. By acceptance of all the aspects of life, good and bad, right and wrong, yours and mine, the static, defensive life, which is what most people are cursed with, is converted into a dance, 'the dance of life.' The real function of the dance is- metamorphosis.