Iris Owens

Iris and I were ex-wives in law to the Persian Prince in Hope Diamond Refuses. The character of Joann is very loosely fashioned after me (although the Prince and I never had children, I never lived in Iran and Iris had long since moved on from the Prince).

My favorite Iris story relates to the time that she lost her taste for cigarettes and didn't smoke for a period of 2 months.

"Thank goodness," she concluded in her inimitable throaty voice, "I was finally able to pull...

Not that it matters, except to those of us who were lucky enought to be part of the expat scene in Paris in the Fifties, but the restaurant where Iris taught me how to eat an artichaut vinaigrette was Chez Augustin, not Julien. It was on the rue de la Seine and it was magical. Oh Iris, so sorry you are gone!

In the end -- love is the only thing of value in the human experience. And love is found only in relationships. It follows, therefore, that the Emperor who lacks love is a pauper, while the pauper who has love -- owns the world.

The smiles that lit up whenever my favorite Aunt Iris entered the room confirmed that she was blessed with a very rich life.

Iris' ashes are scattered by the beach in Biscayne Bay, at Matheson Hammock, in Coral Gables Florida - the City of her nieces'...

Iris is the matriarch of a univeresal family. Her sudden departure has left us bereft. She was the first woman writer of erotica to be published in the 20th Century. So documented at the British Museum, London. She was a feminist by action, a unique presence who rarely lost her generosity or loyalty regardless of the relative hardships. She was attached to the teachings of Krishnamurti. A part of me has gone.
marilyn meeske sorel

I knew Iris in Paris in the great years of the Fifties. She taught me how to eat an artichoke in Chez Julien one of our favorite restaurants. Sorry I didn't see more of her in recent years.
Harriet Sohmers Zwerling

I never met Iris, nor was I able to correspond with her during the course of my work on a bibliography of the Paris Olympia Press, but nevertheless greatly
valued her work for Maurice Girodias, the founder of the Olympia Press. Together with Marilyn Meeske, John Stevenson and the other contributors to that wonderful series of green jacketed novels, she helped return, briefly, a sense of dignity and quality to erotic writing that had been wanting from English literature since the 18th...

I will always miss you Iris. My loving respects to your friends and family. Bon Voyage,
Judy.

We met and became close friends in college. We hadn't been in touch for a few years, which I regret deeply. I loved her caustic wit. The world will be duller without her.

Iris was a beloved and irreplaceable friend who will be terribly missed. With her lively wit, sharp intelligence and endless curiosity, she was forever young.