by Steve Rockwell
Author Jerzy Kosinski’s end-of-life note was short and to the point: “I am going to put myself to sleep now for a bit longer than usual. Call the time Eternity.” Hemisphere House in New York City became the setting for Kosiński’s final, increasingly difficult years. On May 3, 1991, he died by suicide in his West 57th Street apartment bathroom, while his wife slept.
I attended Kosinski’s 1987 Toronto lecture, at the end of which he quite eagerly consented to take part in my “Pick a Number from 1 to 99” project. At the corner of Hazelton and Yorkville streets, within a week or so after the talk, a chance encounter with the author took place. Information about a future exhibition possibility of my “Numbers,” did get conveyed. At the point where Kosinski was handing me his business card, however, a female companion arrived with a bulky shopping bag. Popping the trunk of the parked car, she urged, “Come on, Jerzy. We gotta go!”
(to be continued)