Lynd Ward's Woodcuts for Myron Brinig's The Flutter of an Eyelid

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
Title Page

One of the lovely things about Myron Brinig's The Flutter of an Eyelid is the illustrations by Lynd Ward. A simple 1-inch square woodcut at the beginning of each chapter illustrates the key events of that chapter in a surprisingly complete way. Ward is particularly skilled at this since he 'wrote' six novels without words in the 1920s and 1930s (God's Man, Madman's Drum, Wild Pilgrimage, Prelude to a Million Years, Song Without Words, and Vertigo), each work telling a story through a series of woodcuts. The form requires the 'reader' to sit with the images, sometimes returning to earlier ones, each time picking up some subtle nuance not previously seen.

The woodcuts for The Flutter of an Eyelid perfectly fit the story which has both classical and modern themes. They illustrate this particular story but at the same time feel completely timeless.

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
I: Approach by Sea

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
II: A Sunny Day in California

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
III: The Black Tub

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
IV: Characters of the Novel

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
V: Nudes on the Beach

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
VI: The Boat of Yang Kuo-chung

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
VII: L'Après Midi d'un Faune

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
VIII: A Woman in Christ's Shadow

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
IX: Music at Dark

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
X: Passion Upon a Cold and Thoughtful Stone

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XI: The Road is Long

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XII: The Tempest

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XIII: Life and Times of Lad Greengable: The Wanderer

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XIV: Worshippers of the Moon

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XV: Time, Gentlemen, Time!

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XVI: Make Way for the Lord

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XVII: Opium

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XVIII: Tragedy at Sea

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XIX: Life and Times of Lad Greengable: À Rebours

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XX: Preludes

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XXI: Dorosel

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XXII: Death of a Poet

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XXIII: Tears in the Evening

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XXIV: Jainticanto

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XXV: Concerto

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XXVI: The Lavengros

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XXVII: Five Points of a Star

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XXVIII: A Pitiful Little Man

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XXIX: Prisoners

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XXX: Violet Colored Mazes of Defeat

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XXXI: The Day Was a Great Golden Cube

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XXXII: Sinners in the Temple

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XXXIII: End of the Novel

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XXXIV: New England Interior

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XXXV: The Trial

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XXXVI: Departure to the Sea

Myron Brinig, The Flutter of an Eyelid, 1933
Illustrated by Lynd Ward
XXXVII: Finis

The Flutter of an Eyelid by Myron Brinig

New York : Farrar & Rinehart, 1933
Linked image: New York Public Library, Collection of Book Jackets

Myron Brinig's The Flutter of an Eyelid is the story of writer, Caslon Roanoke who arrives in Los Angeles to work on his latest novel. His neighbors are an interesting bunch and he constructs his novel around them. Over time, it becomes less and less clear to the reader whether we are reading what is actually happening or if we are reading Roanoke's  novel.

A gay reading of the text centers on Mrs. Forgate, reputed murderer of several husbands, her young boyfriend Antonio and Hubert Daché, a poet from Texas. Antonio and Hubert's budding relationship is problematic for Mrs. Forgate and dangerous for them.

In Earl Ganz' novel, The Taos Truth Game, Myron Brinig appears as the main character and describes the story behind the publication of The Flutter of an Eyelid. The conversation is between Hal (poet, Witter Bynner) and Myron Brinig (p.40-41).

Albuquerque: University of New
Mexico Press, 2006

     "Myron, before I forget, " said the poet, "I want you to sign something for me." And he led Myron to a table on which lay a copy of The Flutter of an Eyelid.
     "Where'd you get this?" asked Myron, picking the book up.
     "I had Villagra save it for me."
     "You read it?" Myron asked in spite of himself. The question always sounded like begging.
     " Yes and I loved it," said Hal. "It's South Wind set in Malibu. And some of it's about people like us."
     "It's all about people like us," said Myron.
     "So what happened?"
     "A woman in LA thought she saw herself in it and brought suit."
     "Farrar & Rinehart wouldn't go to bat for you?"
     "No."
     "Was it her?"
     "The person I took the character from was a man. It was Farrar & Rinehart who asked me to change the gender."
     "So they knew who the character was and still wouldn't defend you?"
     "That's right. They'd rather take the loss than admit they had published a novel about homosexuals.

Bibliographies & Ratings: While Brinig's This Man is My Brother (1932) is listed in all four bibliographies, The Flutter of an Eyelid, also with obvious gay content, is absent. Perhaps the withdrawal of the title by the publisher is to blame for this oversight.

Au Soldat Inconnu by Andre Henri Lavrillier

Au Soldat Inconnu (1925)
André Henri Lavrillier (1885-1958)

Bronze Plaquette
72mm x 52mm

Two / Wicked Angels by Eric Jourdan

Binghamton, NY: Southern Tier, 2006

An English translation of Eric Jourdan's 1955 novel Les Mauvais Anges was released in 2006 by Southern Tier Editions / Harrington Park Press. It is the story of the love between two cousins, Pierre and Gerard. Divided into two parts, each character in turn tells the story of their intense relationship which is about love as much as it is about trying to become the other person. It is truly a story of obsessive love. Some reviewers have had difficulty with the sadomasochistic aspects of the story, so the reader should be prepared for this. 

Mr. Armbrecht, in his introduction to the text, offers an in-depth analysis of censorship of literature in France and about the censorship of this novel in particular after it's initial publication in 1955. The censoring of this text was about much more than just its homosexual content. What troubles me about the introduction, and frankly the information offered on the cover of the book is that it purposefully obscures the fact that this is not the first English translation of this novel. In fact, Pyramid Books released the first English translation by Richard Howard in 1963 under the title Two. 

New York: Pyramid Books, 1963

Two is a fairly well-known pulp title and is featured in a number of recent publications about gay pulps, so it is difficult to believe that it was simply overlooked. Mr. Armbrecht does note in his introduction that Jourdan has written nine novels and none of them have been translated into English except Les Mauvais Anges. However, he stops short of saying exactly when that translation happened. The back cover of this new translation also includes this: "A classic French gay novel, banned for thirty years -- now lovingly translated into English" The casual reader is left with the idea that this is the first translation of this novel. As well, the introduction discusses that the republication of the original French was done from the manuscript and was not a reprint of the original 1955 text. At no point, however, does he state whether what he is offering is an English translation of the manuscript or the original text. I'm not suggesting that the new translation isn't worth reading, because I think that it is and that it offers an important new look at this wonderful novel. However, I think that the first English translation, Two, also deserves to be acknowledged. The two translations are obviously different, in many ways reflecting the two distinct times in which they were written. Each offers the reader a unique telling of this amazing story.

Bibliographies & Ratings: Young (2047, *)

This post originally appeared in slightly different form on FritzPeters.info, January 23, 2010. 

Boy by James Hanley

[London]: Andre Deutsch, 1990

James Hanley's Boy, originally published 1931 in a limited edition, is the story of thirteen-year-old Arthur Fearon. His parents pull him from school and send him to work so that he may help support the family. After a single day working at cleaning out the bilge of ship in port and suffering the hazing by the other boys on job, he stows away on a ship leaving for Alexandria in hopes of starting a new life. Discovered half-dead in the coal chute, he is nursed back to health and made a member of the crew. Many of the seasoned members of the crew make advances toward him, suggesting a long history on ships of boys serving the adult crew; cleaning, bringing food and being sexually available. It is discussed as if they had also been through this as boys and it was just an expected part of ship life.

New York: Knopf, 1932

Boy may be Hanley's most famous work due to the court case of 1934 where the publishers were found guilty of issuing an obscene libel. Joseph Pridmore, in his "Unpleasant and ugly in both narration and incident:" the troubled legal history of James Hanley's Boy,  provides an excellent history of the controversy. Andre Deutsch (1990) released the first unexpurgated edition since the trial. Although Knopf released the the first U.S. edition in 1932, ahead of the court case, several passages were softened and certain words were changed to suit an American audience.


Bibliographies & Ratings: Cory (II); Garde (OTP, d); Mattachine Review (II); Young (1694)