Ana簿s Nin (February 21, 1903 - January 14, 1977) was a Cuban-American essayist and memoirist. She was born to Cuban parents in France, spent some time in Spain and Cuba, but lived most of her life in the United States. Her most important works are her diaries/journals, which span several decades, and provide a deep insight into her personal life and relationships. She was acquainted, often quite intimately, with a number of prominent authors, artists, psychoanalysts, and other figures, and wrote of them often. Nin is hailed by many critics as one of the finest writers of female erotica. She was one of the first women known to explore fully the realm of erotic writing, and certainly the first prominent woman in the modern West known to write erotica. The explosion of the feminist movement in the 1960s made Nin a popular lecturer at universities. She died in 1977, three years after being diagnosed with cancer, at the age of 73. No photographer credited, undated.