Barthold Fles
| Barthold Fles | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 7, 1902 Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Died | December 19, 1989 (aged 87) Laren, Netherlands |
| Pen name | Jan van Straaten |
| Occupation | literary agent, author, translator, editor and publisher |
| Nationality | Dutch-American (Jewish atheist) |
| Period | 1928-1982 (occasional writing) 1933-1986 (literary agency) 1935-1943 (translating) |
| Genre | non-fiction, juvenile |
| Subject | music, literature |
| Notable works | books: Slavonic rhapsody, Briefwechsel; translations: Music here and now, Bambi's children; article: Chávez lights new music with old fires |
| Spouse | Ruth Grünwald |
| Children | none |
| Relatives |
Louis Fles, George Fles, Michael John Fles, Bart Berman, Helen Berman, Thijs Berman, Giorgio van Straten |
Barthold Fles (February 7, 1902 – December 19, 1989) was a Dutch-American literary agent, author, translator, editor and publisher. Among his many clients were Elias Canetti, Raymond Loewy, Heinrich Mann, Joseph Roth, Felix Salten, Ignazio Silone, Bruno Walter and Arnold Zweig.
Barthold "Bart" Fles was born in Amsterdam into an assimilating Jewish family. His father, Louis Fles, was a successful businessman and an activist against religion. Barthold had a tense relationship with his father, who wanted him into his business, while the young Fles was mostly interested in reading. Barthold read in Dutch, German, English, and French, anytime and at a tremendous pace. He did study business at a vocational school and found employment at De Lange publishers. In 1923 he left for the United States.
In New York Fles found temporary employment as a violinist, painting apartments, selling vacuum cleaners and working for publishers. In 1933, he established a literary agency in Manhattan, New York. Initially many of his clients were German refugees and other foreign authors. He organized evenings for these authors in New York, in order to get them acquainted with the American book market. From the 1940s onwards, however, most of his clientele was from the United States.
In 1936 Barthold married Ruth Grünwald, a dancer at the Metropolitan Opera who had been just one year in the United States. Ruth assisted Barthold at his literary agency. Later she left him.
Fles was a special figure in the lives of many of his clients. He kept closely in touch, encouraged his authors to concentrate on their art, and arranged fellowships with literary funds. Still, some clients moved on to larger agencies, or were later represented by publishing houses, lawyers, or by themselves, often after long relationships. An exception was Anaïs Nin who left him soon after she joined his client circle, citing unorganized business conduct as a reason. "Bonjour, friend, and good-bye, literary agent", she wrote to him. In biographical notes on Fles, however, she stated that he had refused to take on her boyfriend Henry Miller. Miller himself also had hard feelings, calling Fles dishonest and part of the publishing establishment. Fles was influential during several decades in getting blacklisted authors published.
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