Did you know Marilyn Monroe was an avid reader? I’ve seen her photographed with books, but I thought she was just trying to negate her image as a “dumb blonde.”
In truth though, her personal library contained over 400 books–from Dostoyevsky to Hemingway. And she took night classes at UCLA. Who knew? Not me. I found out thanks to a friend who sent me this link.
She wrote, too. Her private poems were printed a while back in a book called “Fragments.” Here are a couple excerpts with her actual scribblings.
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When you write, are you a scribbler?
I do most of my writing longhand before I make my way to the keyboard. Something about it feels more natural and organic, less “serious” and “professional.” Maybe I associate a keyboard with work, with having to perform a certain way and create a certain output. Longhand feels freeing to me. I can just write without expectation or fear. I can “fix” it when I go to the computer phase.