The Promised Party: Kahlo, Basquiat and Me

An ultra-vivid, carnivalesque memoir of Jennifer Clement’s early life from 60s Mexico to 80s New York City - the prequel to Widow Basquiat

’Clement has lived a life like no other, and made of it a shimmering mosaic, a masterpiece, which is this book’ Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less

Growing up in 1970s Mexico City, Jennifer Clement lived next door to Frida Kahlo’s house. It was a bohemian childhood, living alongside artists, communists, revolutionaries and poets, which allowed an awakening of creative freedom and curiosity about the world.

Leaving behind Latin America for the burgeoning counter-culture scene in ’80s New York, Clement inhabited the world of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Colette Lumiere and William Burroughs. Spanning two great cities, The Promised Party explores what it means to be young, free and alive.

Jennifer Clement is the President Emerita of PEN International and the only woman to be elected since the organisation was founded in 1921. She is the author of multiple books, including Widow Basquiat and Gun Love. Her books have been translated into more than forty languages around the world. Clement is also the
recipient of many awards including the Sara Curry Humanitarian Award, the Grand Prix des Lectrices Lyc�ennes de Elle in France, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an NEA Fellowship, and her books have twice been a New York Times Editor’s Choice.

jenniferclement.org