Rhythmically I have tried to capture the tempo of my time, its ecstasy, its hardness, its lyricism, its great variety. The songs are musical, and I took a seat with the rhythm, its fluctuations, and the way in which we make
music, which reaches in each poem its own order: repetitions, choruses, instrumental changes, the deposition of the phrases...
Each poem, however, must produce its own music, because each poem must be free in itself. I tried to express through rhythm and language, in the flow of images, the freedom, at last, of the poetic voice.
I write these poems all the time. At home, in the car, backstage, at cafes...I am always writing this single poem. Since I was 15, And I intend to continue writing them for the rest of my life.
- Julian Beck
Who is this Julian Beck person that scared all of us to death? Well, my research thus far has told me a great deal about this interesting man. Here are some facts I have gathered about him. I have also placed some links on this page too for deeper insights.
Julian was born in new york city on may 31, 1925
He attended Horace man high school
He dropped out of Yale in 1943 to paint and write in new york. Then he met Judith Malina, his life companion..together they founded what was known as the Living Theatre in 1947.
Beck wrote and directed plays many plays throughout the course of his life.
Julian led massive political demonstrations in new york in the 60s. all were involving peace.
Julian Beck was a lifelong poet. He published several books including:
Poetry: Songs of the revolution 1-35 (1963)
21 Songs of the Revolution (1969)
Songs of the Revolution 36-89 (1974)
Theandric, Julian Beck's last notebooks (1992)
Prose: Entretiens avec le Living Theatre (1969) (with Judith Malina and Jean-Jacques Lebel)
We, The Living Theatre (1970) (with Judith Malina and Aldo Rostango)
The Life of the Theatre (1972)
Plays Julian wrote:
Paradise Now (1971) (with Judith Malina)
Le Legs de Cain: trois projets pilotes (1972) (with Judith Malina)
Frankenstein (Venice Version) (1972)(with Judith Malina)
Sette Meditazioni sul sadomasochismo politico (1977) (with Judith Malina)
Wanna hear about the day I met Julian after he died? (Sort of..) Click here!
Julian acted in what was known as the living theater. He won and OBIE (Off Broadway Theater Award.) Note the following:
1964: When an award to Julian Beck was announced -- for his set design for "The Brig" -- Beck and his wife, Judith Malina, were just coming in the door. Under a strain from the two weeks of federal trial that resulted from the closing of their theater -- a trial destined to end two days later in conviction -- the Becks received a prolonged standing ovation as they came
to the platform.
There is a video about his life available. You can find it by following the links to amazon.com on my web site. For more on the Living theater, click on the links below:
Julian was an extremely liberal person. He was very political..in fact, politics seemed to dominate his life. Most of his theater acting was geared toward political causes and views. This is expressed in the links above.
Julian was married to Judith Malina. However, his marriage was openly non-monogamous. He was bisexual, and had a male lover for most of his life. His wife (who played grandma Addams in the Addams Family) also had a lover (male) about 25 years her junior.
The Living Theatre was stopped in several countries in its years including
the United States, Brazil, and Europe.
Julian Beck signed two plays: Prometheus in the Winter Palace (1978) and the
Archaeology of Sleep (1983)
Over the course of his life, Julian experimented with many kinds of narcotics including LSD and Marijuana. He often went on stage while under the influence of LSD.
In 1983, Julian Beck was diagnosed with incurable stomach cancer. Between
the time he was diagnosed and the time he died in 1985, he worked in such
films as The Cotton Club (1984), and Poltergeist II: The Other
Side(1985-86). He also acted in the televison series Miami Vice and and All
My Children.
He won several awards in his life including: the Grand Prix of the Theatre
of Nations, the New York Newspaper Guild's page one award, the Brandeis
University Creative Arts Citation, and six Obies.
"Julian Beck left the cultural scene as an artist of formidable achievments
and exemplary integrity. His life's work has inspired generations of
audiences and readers around the world.
For those of you who feel like me and are/were scared to death of him, it was only until I learned about him as a person that I was able to get over my fear of the evil Reverend, Henry Kane.
Julian Beck was a wise man, actor, brilliant, radical, social-revolutionary
theatric genius. Words from the middle of his head carry all the weight of
his living experience, "immortal longings" and loves.
- Alec Ginsberg
Did you know that Jim Morrison from The Doors was greatly influenced by Julian Beck (Henry Kane..) ?? It is well known that Jim Morrison did things like insult the audience and remove his clothes on stage. He got these ideas from watching Julian Beck perform with the Living Theatre. For more on the Living Theatre, click on the Julian Beck Link on the navigation frame on this page.
This was taken from another website with a dictionary reference of famous people:
1925–85, American theatrical director, actor, and producer, b. New York
City. He married Judith Malina, 1926–, also an American theatrical director,
actor, and producer, b. Germany. Together they founded the Living Theater in
1947, which inaugurated the off-off Broadway movement. Their productions
were highly imaginative and often involved collective improvisation and took
an anarcho-pacifist viewpoint. Perhaps their most controversial work was
Paradise Now (1968), a free-form critique of American life that involved
nudity and audience participation. Their other productions include The
Connection (1959), The Brig (1963), In the Jungle of the Cities (1960), and
Antigone (1968). The company was based in Europe for two decades (1963–83).
After Beck’s death, the theater continued under the direction of Malina and
Hanon Reznikov. 1
See J. Malina’s autobiography, The Enormous Despair (1972); R. Neff, The
Living Theatre: USA (1970); J. Tytell, The Living Theater: Art, Exile, and
Outrage (1995).
