Life with P.: Journals, 1966–1976

An intimate account of a decade in the life of poet and painter Musa McKim and her husband Philip Guston, told through McKim’s journal entries and poems. Bringing together Musa McKim’s journals and poetry, Life with P.: Journals, 1966–1976 draws an intimate and candid portrait of McKim’s life as a writer and her marriage to the esteemed painter Philip Guston. The book spans a critical decade in the couple’s marriage as well as a period of profound change and productivity in Guston’s artistic practice that saw the creation of some of his most iconic late works. McKim’s writings capture daily life at their home and studio in Woodstock, trips to New York City, travels abroad to Mexico and Italy, and time spent at various artist residencies. A rich collection of artworks and archival images documents the couple’s domestic and social lives and the fellow artists and writers who made up their world. Alongside her introduction, notes by their daughter Musa Mayer provide valuable context to her mother’s writings. Complementing Mayer’s own celebrated memoir Night Studio (1988), Life with P. is an extraordinary window into McKim’s singular experience of the world.