BABITZ, AS PICTURED ON THE FIRST EDITION OF EVE’S HOLLYWOOD.
Slow Days, Fast Company
Eve Babitz’s singular take on Los Angeles.
By Stephanie LaCava
Years ago, a friend gave me a first edition of Eve Babitz’s second book, Slow Days, Fast Company (1974), which had slipped out of print. Tucked inside was a promotional photo of the author on thick, glossy Kodak paper; the back cover, featuring the same image, explained that Babitz had begun to write in 1972 after a stint designing album covers for Atlantic Records. It neglected to mention that she’d had romances with the portrait’s photographer, Paul Ruscha, and his brother, the artist Ed Ruscha—a kind of discretion she’s not often afforded.
