A Rememberance of Stan Rice...
"Hello guys, this is Anne Rice, it's December 9th, 2002. I have the very sad news, that my husband Stan died this morning, between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. He had been struggling with a tumor in his brain for a little over four months. He went down very fast. Very fast. I just wanted to share that information with you, because so many of you have left messages saying that you were praying for him and that you were thinking about him, and I appreciate all of those messages very very much.
I was married to Stan for 41 years. As far as I'm concerned, he died young. I don't even know what the world is going to be like for me without Stan. It's been "Stan and Anne" for so long that I have no concept of it. I'll go on writing, of course. Because one of the great things about being a writer is that you can write in sorrow, in grief, and anguish. You can use your emotions to make something constructive, and something perhaps that will remove these things for someone else.
Thank you so much for your response to BLACKWOOD FARM. You know how much I love that book. You knows it's filled with ways of death and dying and asking for death and dying. Keep giving your response. I love hearing from you. Maybe next year I'll be able to travel again. Maybe on a tour. I don't know.
In 1973, when I wrote INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, my beautiful husband Stan was the inspiration for the vampire Lestat. He had Stan's long blond hair and blue eyes and feline grace that inspired Lestat's charm and magnetism and mesmerizing movement. And now, for the first time in 41 years, I'm alone. I'm a woman alone. It's a very strange feeling.
My heart goes out to all of you who are writing. All of you who are struggling with problems of your own. I hope that whatever pain I've sustained, will only leave me more sensitive to others. That will make me only more loving. I pray that happens.
I have a book already written, that will appear next fall. I'll tell you more about it as time goes on. Right now, I'm sort of thinking that Blackwood Farm is a state of mind; and I like to slip into that state of mind to console myself. Thank you for listening to me. Thank you for your wonderful messages. I truly love you. I don't know where I would be if it weren't for you. Take care."
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Letter from Ross Tafaro, Executive Director:
I seldom write to Anne's web site, only usually about something really important. This time I have the sad duty to write about Stan Rice's death.
I feel that people should know more about this good man. Stan was probably the most devoted poet and painter one could ever imagine. Even when his entire left side was paralyzed and he was unable to walk, Stan requested our employees to carry him up two flights of stairs so he could work. Eventually, we got a chair lift. All this time he was undergoing radiation five times a week for six weeks and on chemotherapy. He was able to complete three large exceptional paintings and some poetry. All requiring the most courageous effort on his part under increasingly debilatating circumstances. If you had only seen what a great effort it required for him to do this, you would have partially understood how totally devoted he was to his work. Once in the studio, even what would be considered the simplest task, such as opening a tube of paint or picking up something dropped on the floor, required a great effort on his part. He was a purist and his courage and devotion to his work was unparalleled. And his creations are beautiful. I hope everyone gets an opportunity to see them.
Stan was a man's man. His integrity, sense of justice and fairness were beyond reproach. He gave people the benefit of the doubt in all cases and was an excellent judge of character. But he didn't have time for untruthfulness or trivial nonsense. And he clearly let you know that, you didn't make that same mistake twice.
He had a great sense of humor, when he found something funny he laughed with his whole body. And it was a wonderful thing for those around to experience. He told great jokes and we had a great deal of fun at the end of each day when he visited my office.
The man was absolutely brilliant, his knowledge was in no way limited to just art and literature. He was a storehouse of knowledge on almost any subject. On many days, if Anne and I had encountered a question for which we were at a loss, Anne would always say, "We can check with Stan this evening," and in most cases he had the answer.
Believe me, I feel like I could write pages about Stan, and I hope that one day a better writer than I does, because he deserves whatever honor can be bestowed. And many could learn from the way in which Stan lived.
He was a good friend and I will miss him greatly.
--Ross Tafaro, Executive Director
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"Hello to my readers, new and old. I am still charged with the energy of Blackwood Farm. I've decided Blackwood Farm is a state of mind. Be sure the entire gang will survive for another novel. And after that my entire career will take a huge and mysterious turn. My direction will be so strange that many may abandon me, but who knows? It won't happen till 2004. I send you my sincere love."
"Let me be your cultural bandit forever."
-Anne