April 5, 2005

Saul Bellow (June 10, 1915 to April 5, 2005) had a network of friends which included much of the 20th century literary firmament. And, many corners now considered obscure: he admired and visited Owen Barfield. It was Barfield who introduced Bellow to anthroposophy, the name for Rudolf Steiner's ideas. Barfield had been a member of the Inklings, that cozy Oxford pub meeting crew that included C. S. Lewis and Tolkein. Bellow's public life then, made a glamorous and complex, thought-provoking network.This is clear from the book Saul Bellow: Letters, edited by Benjamin Taylor (2010).

And that book is the source of our conclusion that Bellow's messy private life rarely included cats. He said "if I led a settled life I'd acquire cats and dogs, but Alexandra and I knock about so much that I have to limit myself to houseplants." Somebody needs to make an infographic of Bellow and his friends.