One summer in 1940, Mia Elkovsky Phoebus shared a run-down house on a wharf with a ragtag group of artists and dancers. One of these unknowns was Tennessee Williams, who became America's leading playwright. Tennessee immortalized Mia as the character "Miriam" in his play "The Parade," and repeatedly referenced "that glorious summer of 1940" in his memoirs. But the whole story has never been told. Part memoir, part tell-all, and part original poetry,...