210 - GENET (Jean), 1910–1986.

GENET (Jean), 1910–1986. Set of two autograph letters signed “Jean Genet” to an (unidentified) writer, undated, 2 pp., in-4. In the first letter, Genet thanks the recipient for sending him a signed copy of his book, which he has just finished reading: “I’ve just finished it and am still under the spell of its intensity and beauty.” Eager to meet the author before leaving Paris for a few months, he invites him for a drink and leaves the arrangements entirely up to him: “Anywhere and at any time. I have absolutely no commitments […] I’d like to see you sometime in the next few days.” The second letter appears to be a direct follow-up to this invitation. A meeting was evidently missed due to a communication breakdown on the part of his publisher: “How can I apologize? My publisher, Paul Morihien, only told me today that you were at La Rhumerie Martiniquaise at three o’clock.” Genet immediately offers to make up for the mishap by visiting the establishment that very day. He provides a phone number and recommends asking for “Mr. Galtier,” the pseudonym under which he could be reached. To help his correspondent recognize him, he adds this colorful detail: “At La Rhumerie, I’ll be wearing a blue shirt with rolled-up sleeves.” La Rhumerie martiniquaise, which opened in 1932 at 166 Boulevard Saint-Germain, was one of the gathering places for the literary and artistic circles of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in the postwar period.