{"title":"Elaine Kraf","description":"Elaine Kraf (1936-2013) was a writer and painter. She was the author of four published works of fiction: I Am Clarence (1969), The House of Madelaine (1971), Find Him! (1977), and The Princess of 72nd Street (1979)--as well as several unpublished novels, plays, and poetry collections. She was the recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts awards, a 1971 fellowship at the Broad Loaf Writers' Conference, and a 1977 residency at Yaddo. She was born and lived in New York City.","products":[{"product_id":"memory-house-paperback","title":"Memory House - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe never-before-published final novel by cult feminist author Elaine Kraf, exploring what happens when a drained writer fakes her death and joins a mysterious club for failing artists\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOnce the darling of the literary world, Marlane Frack is fading into obscurity: her once-brilliant career seems over, her creativity feels nonexistent, and her demanding husband would prefer she spend her time caring for him instead of struggling to find inspiration. But one day, an enigmatic chauffeur arrives to spirit her away to Memory House, a secluded sanctuary where formerly successful artists of all kinds--writers, painters, musicians, and more--are spending the rest of their lives. They have all decided that fame in death is preferable to decline in real life. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNestled in a remote, picturesque landscape, the house is a labyrinth of secrets and whispers, where time seems to flow differently and creativity is both a blessing and a curse. There, Marlane finds herself among a diverse group of residents, some of whom she knew in the outside world, all of them fighting with their own artistic demons--and with each other. As the line between reality and imagination blurs, and her past begins to manifest in startling ways, Marlane starts to question what is real and what is merely a figment of the house's influence. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWill Marlane find the redemption she seeks, or will the house consume her creative spirit entirely? In the last book she wrote before her death, which has never been published before, Elaine Kraf explores the challenges of being a female creator, the transformative power of art, and the enduring quest for self-discovery.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50101965422815,"sku":"9798217153749","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/7xiNFaweuQ9798217153749.webp?v=1781075995"},{"product_id":"find-him-paperback","title":"Find Him! - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn uncanny novel which provides keen insight on patriarchal violence and female identity by the author of feminist cult classic \u003ci\u003eThe Princess of 72nd Street\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eWith an introduction by Violet Kupersmith\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eUnderstand my beginning with Oliver. You will see that my love for him is not a romantic fantasy. Every bit of this love was formed from the reality of primary needs--ingestion, excretion, simple pleasure and pain.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOur narrator's name and origins are unknown, but she claims to be from \"another star.\" Though she arrived as a fully grown woman, she did not yet have the ability to speak or look after herself. She lives with Oliver, who serves as both her caregiver and her captor and keeps the two of them in isolation from the rest of the world. Though she has no freedom, she insists that he did his best to protect her, to develop her into something more than she was. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNow she blends into our society, though she is still different at heart. The problem is, she can't find Oliver. She goes back to their beginning to examine her relationship with him, a strange mix of father, lover, abuser, teacher. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAnd then there is the question of Edith, a mysterious woman whose absence seems to haunt them both. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOriginally published in 1977 and seemingly woven from the fragments of nightmares and fantasies, \u003ci\u003eFind Him! \u003c\/i\u003eis a paragon of Elaine Kraf's iconoclastic style, challenging and captivating in equal measure. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Modern Library Torchbearers Series features women who wrote on their own terms, with boldness, creativity, and a spirit of resistance.\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50102492889311,"sku":"9780593731918","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/DEBmYAZ2u79780593731918.webp?v=1781083358"},{"product_id":"i-am-clarence-paperback","title":"I Am Clarence - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA haunting novel exploring a mother's fierce love for her disabled son as she grapples with her own mental health, by the author of the feminist cult classic \u003ci\u003eThe Princess of 72nd Street\u003c\/i\u003e--with an introduction by Sarah Manguso\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Elaine Kraf is one of literature's hidden gems. Her work demands a place on your bookshelf right next to Plath and Ditlevsen.\"\u003ci\u003e--\u003c\/i\u003eSarah Rose Etter, author of \u003ci\u003eRipe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eAccording to Dr. Hovenclock, health meant wanting things. What would I have to pretend to want before he would let me leave? I longed to return to Clarence.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor Clarence's mother, life revolves around her young son; she takes him to see specialists to find the cause of his blindness and developmental delays, protects him from the cruelty of other children, and loves him tenderly. But she has her own struggles too. Her sanity is precarious and fractured, making caregiving increasingly difficult for her. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen her mental health reaches a breaking point, she checks herself into an institution so that she can get better and, she tells herself, be a better mother to Clarence. As she is forced to decide between his well-being and her own, the reader is faced with these essential questions: Can a mother's love for her child surmount her own emotional upheaval? How much can she sacrifice for her son and survive? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThrough this unforgettable journey into one woman's mind and relationships, Kraf paints a harrowing portrait of motherhood, which remains timely and inventive more than fifty years after its initial publication.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50103223484639,"sku":"9780593731857","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/qUWm1tHEgP9780593731857.webp?v=1781090521"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/elaine-kraf.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}