Anaïs Nin with Judy Chicago: Vulnerabilities

In this historic 1975 recording, Anaïs Nin sits down to tackle two seemingly disparate points of departure. She begins by reading a selection of passages from her fourth diary and is then joined by artist Judy Chicago, to discuss the women's movement of their era.

Her fourth diary is one of seven; the first of which was written when she was just 11. In this volume, Nin captures her time in Greenwich Village through personal observations and letters from icons in her social circle. She mentions other poets, the architect Lloyd Wright, and the editor Leo Lehreman. Within the passages that she reads, Nin prevails to demonstrate her emotional and sentimental perspective on her life and how she views herself basking in its beauty, fire, and myth.

Following her readings, Nin and Chicago engage in a dialog. They discuss their experiences as creative intellects that frequent universities as spokeswomen for feminism. While Chicago represents a more aggravated perspective on the dynamism of women within American society, Nin explains her opposition to competition and terror. The two of them compare their experiences with creating beauty and contemplate how to present themselves before unisex audiences. Despite their different approaches towards leading and inspiring women, Chicago relates Nin's diary to female 1970's suffrage. The era was one in which women were trying to elevate their level withing society, in essence, they were challenging their vulnerabilities, which ultimately was what Nin chose to reveal within her diaries.

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