Barney Rosset
| Barney Rosset | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Barnet Lee Rosset, Jr. May 28, 1922 Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Died | February 21, 2012 (aged 89) Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States |
| Occupation | Book, magazine publisher |
| Spouse(s) | Joan Mitchell, Hannelore Eckert, Cristina Agnini, Lisa Krug, Astrid Myers |
| Children | Peter, Tansey, Beckett, Chantal |
Barnet Lee "Barney" Rosset, Jr. (May 28, 1922 – February 21, 2012) was the owner of the publishing house Grove Press, and publisher and editor-in-chief of the magazine Evergreen Review. He led a successful legal battle to publish the uncensored version of D. H. Lawrence's novel Lady Chatterley's Lover, and later was the American publisher of Henry Miller's controversial novel Tropic of Cancer. The right to publish and distribute Miller's novel in the United States was affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1964, in a landmark ruling for free speech and the First Amendment.
Rosset was born and raised in Chicago to a Jewish father, Barnet Rosset, and an Irish Catholic mother, Mary (née Tansey). He attended the progressive Francis Parker School, where he was best friends with renowned cinematographer Haskell Wexler. Rosset also said that Robert Morss Lovett, the grandfather of Rosset's high school sweetheart, and professor of English at the University of Chicago had been a great influence on him.
Rosset attended Swarthmore College for one year and then enlisted in the army in 1942. It was at Swarthmore that Rosset discovered the work of Henry Miller.
During World War II, he served in the Army Signal Corps as an officer in a photographic company stationed in Kumming, China. In 2002, Rosset exhibited a collection of his War Photographs from his time in China in a New York Gallery. The exhibit included graphic photos of wounded and dead Chiang Kai-shek soldiers.
Rosset's initial ambition was to be a filmmaker like his childhood friend Haskell Wexler. Rosset produced a documentary called Strange Victory about racism in a post World War II America. The film was a failure.
...
Wikipedia