A3 Reclusive Openness: A Black American Classical Pianist in Europe

Abstract

This chapter or track addresses the life and writings of African-American classical pianist Eugene Haynes, notably his friendship with the Danish writer Karen Blixen/Isak Dinesen, as documented in a book of letters and diaries, To Soar with Angels. The European Travels: Remembrances of Isak Dinesen, from 2000 At the time of this publication, Haynes was over 70. The book covers the period 1952–1962, when Haynes, as a young man, lived and gave concerts around Europe and occasionally stayed in Denmark, where he befriended the writer Karen Blixen and her secretary, Clara Selborn. Haynes died in 2007, at 80 years old. The year after Haynes passed, Selborn, Blixen’s secretary, passed. In Selborn’s house, in the village of Dragør, near Copenhagen, where Haynes had stayed during many summer and winter visits, a suitcase with Haynes’ belongings is found. It is given to the local museum, and they make a temporary exhibition in 2012 and produce a range of short films. The case concentrates on the reopening of Haynes’ life in the form of his later writings, short films and the found suitcase.