Re: Opus Pistorum = Miller's Work

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Posted ByPierre on November 05, 19101 at 09:32:20:

In Reply to: Opus Pistorum = Miller's Work posted bySchwitters on November 04, 19101 at 22:51:58:

: I read in a review of Opus Pistorum on Amazon.com that the title, "Opus Pistorum", is Latin for "Miller's Work". I verified this by digging up an online Latin dictionary.

: That's an interesting way of publishing an anonymous book - to simply state the author's name right there in the title, but in a language you wouldn't expect most people to penetrate. Of course, you'd also have to expect that someone would eventually make the translation. I wonder then if Miller's continued refutation of authorship was truly a way of distancing himself from a book he thought to be of little artistic merit or just a continuation of the joke.

: While Opus Pistorum does go well off the deep end with the porn, Miller wasn't given to filtering his literary output. In addition to 10-20 novels and collections of essays, he published thousands of letters, a play, etc, etc. Why was he so reticent to acknowledge authorship of the "Opus"?

: Also, does anyone know how the decision to change the title to "Under the Roofs of Paris" came about?

According to the ŤHenry Miller Bibliography of Primary Sourcesť -listing of major "A" items with links to the variations of them- (http://www.hmbiblio.com), ŤOpus Pistorum ť had a name change in 1985 because of Ť lagging sales ť. Robert Ferguson (Ť Henry Miller, A Life ť, wrote that the interest of this book Ť really lies in the fact that Miller seems to have been uniquely ashamed of his involment in the project (of writing hard-core pornography) ť. Several times, he denied responsibility for the six stories, but Ť copies of all six pieces have been part of the Henry Miller Collection at UCLA since l962. Miller took a keen interest in this collection and was aware of their presence. When Lawrence Clark Powell, the librarian in charge of the collection, asked him outright whether he had written them he did not say he had; but neither did he deny it ť. p.277.

Follow Ups

Under the Twats of Paris Schwitters 11:29:59 11/05/101 (7)
- Re: Under the Twats of Paris Old Fart 16:21:43 11/05/101 (6)
  - Re: Under the Twats of Paris marc 12:38:38 11/07/101 (0)
  - with my pants down, and in other ways Schwitters 22:57:45 11/05/101 (3)
    - You're mixing apples and pomegranates.. Old Fart 09:34:09 11/07/101 (2)
      - Re: You're mixing apples and pomegranates.. Schwitters 15:27:45 11/07/101 (1)
        
        You've got my number, Schwitters. Old Fart 12:41:59 11/08/101 (0)
  - Re: Under the Twats of Paris Pierre 17:55:24 11/05/101 (0)

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Comments:: : I read in a review of Opus Pistorum on Amazon.com that the title, "Opus Pistorum", is Latin for "Miller's Work". I verified this by digging up an online Latin dictionary. : : That's an interesting way of publishing an anonymous book - to simply state the author's name right there in the title, but in a language you wouldn't expect most people to penetrate. Of course, you'd also have to expect that someone would eventually make the translation. I wonder then if Miller's continued refutation of authorship was truly a way of distancing himself from a book he thought to be of little artistic merit or just a continuation of the joke. : : While Opus Pistorum does go well off the deep end with the porn, Miller wasn't given to filtering his literary output. In addition to 10-20 novels and collections of essays, he published thousands of letters, a play, etc, etc. Why was he so reticent to acknowledge authorship of the "Opus"? : : Also, does anyone know how the decision to change the title to "Under the Roofs of Paris" came about? : : According to the ŤHenry Miller Bibliography of Primary Sourcesť -listing of major "A" items with links to the variations of them- (http://www.hmbiblio.com), ŤOpus Pistorum ť had a name change in 1985 because of Ť lagging sales ť. Robert Ferguson (Ť Henry Miller, A Life ť, wrote that the interest of this book Ť really lies in the fact that Miller seems to have been uniquely ashamed of his involment in the project (of writing hard-core pornography) ť. Several times, he denied responsibility for the six stories, but Ť copies of all six pieces have been part of the Henry Miller Collection at UCLA since l962. Miller took a keen interest in this collection and was aware of their presence. When Lawrence Clark Powell, the librarian in charge of the collection, asked him outright whether he had written them he did not say he had; but neither did he deny it ť. p.277.

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