author
Mercedes de Acosta
1893–1968
A vivid figure of New York’s literary and theater world, she wrote poetry, plays, and a novel while moving through some of the most famous artistic circles of her time. Her memoir later became an important window into queer cultural history in the early 20th century.
2 Audiobooks
Archways of life
by Mercedes de Acosta
Moods : Prose poems
by Mercedes de Acosta
About the author
Born in New York City, Mercedes de Acosta was an American writer who worked across poetry, plays, and fiction. Sources about her life differ on whether she was born in 1892 or 1893, but they agree that she died in New York on May 9, 1968. She published several books, including poetry collections and the novel The Streets of Night, and four of her plays were produced.
She is often remembered as much for the world she moved in as for her writing itself. De Acosta had close relationships with major stage and screen figures, and her life connected her to Broadway, Hollywood, and modern dance at a fascinating moment in American cultural history.
Today, she is especially notable for her 1960 memoir Here Lies the Heart, which has been recognized as a valuable document in LGBT history. Even when her literary reputation has been debated, her life and work continue to draw readers interested in theater, old Hollywood, and queer history.