Tennessee Williams: Grasping At What We Knew

Schrafft's Fifth Avenue facade.

Schrafft's interior.

My sister at times forgets me, my mother, our history, but she remembers Miriam Hopkins and Bette Davis; Irene Dunne and Margaret Sullavan; Humphrey Bogart and Jimmy Cagney; the menu at Schrafft's and the scent of Lanvin or White Shoulders. These I can give her--imitations and foods and scents; photographs and memories. I think this is a relationship with my sister, but I also think it may be literature or theatre or some kind of art. Maria [St. Just] just tells me it's living: Grasping at what we knew, which tells us who we are. And so when my mind leaves me, do the voices and show me pictures and bring me candies that remind me of a happy time.

Tennessee Williams

Interview with James Grissom

New Orleans

1982

Bette Davis

Miriam Hopkins

In our memories, there are no limits.

© 2014 James Grissom