A T R I B U T E T O C H A R L E S M A R O W I T Z
![[Pic: Charles Marowitz]](../../../contrib/portrait/marowitz.jpg)
We were well on our way to put this issue to bed -- we had some very interesting articles, and Gilles d'Aymery wanted to write further on the Ukrainian crisis, which he thinks is very, very serious. He also wanted to write about Russian Victory Day because we tend to forget that it was the former Soviet Union that actually defeated Nazi Germany, losing over 20 million people. Then all of a sudden, on May 8 we received an e-mail from Charles Marowitz's wife. Charles had died on May 2, 2014, from complications of Parkinson's Disease. Besides being shocked, we were extremely saddened. And we knew exactly what we needed to do. We asked our contributors if they thought it would be okay to publish a special tribute to Charles, and the answer was affirmative. So we went to work as diligently as we could and in short order to honor his legacy.
As Jonah Raskin rightly put it, "I'm struck by his largess, his generosity as a writer and his crystal clear prose. I really like the way he divagated effortlessly from art to politics and from morality and art and the fact that he could write as well about Elizabeth Taylor and Elia Kazan as he did about Shakespeare and Brecht. I think that he had valuable insights into the whole cauldron of human creativity. He was a genuine American humanist, too, and in difficult times. I'm inspired by his connection with Swans -- the fact that he wrote for Swans and that Swans published him. I'm honored to be in his company. Thanks Charles."
What you'll find is a few words from Gilles d'Aymery, Peter Byrne, Jan Baughman, Glenn Reed, and Guido Monte. We also included the famous poem by T. S. Eliot, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock -- it was one of Charles's favorites. And then we re-posted a selection of eleven articles written by Charles over the nine years he contributed to Swans. Hard to choose because he wrote 200 pieces; each was better than the other. He brought guidance, culture, talent, gentleness, and critical thinking to this publication. He is direly missed.
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Gilles d'Aymery: Saying Goodbye To A Friend
A very personal remembrance of Charles Marowitz by Swans publisher, with deep respect and affection. More...
Peter Byrne: "A Death In The Family"
Peter Byrne remembers Charles Marowitz, of whom he was a fan since the 1960s London theatre scene, and ultimately to find himself contributing, along side Marowitz, to Swans. More...
Jan Baughman: The Ineradicable Charles Marowitz
Remembering the late and incomparable writer, producer, and critic Charles Marowitz. More...
Glenn Reed: To Hell With Mincing Words
Glenn Reed shares his thoughts on the late Charles Marowitz and T.S. Eliot, both of whom he never met but whose words drive him to continue the conversation. More...
Guido Monte: To Charles Marowitz
Words of Charles Marowitz, mixed with verses of Guido Monte. More...
T. S. Eliot: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
The famous Eliot's poem that was one of Charles's favorites. More...
Here is a short selection of the 200 essays, book & theatre reviews, and articles Charles wrote for Swans over 9 years. You can freely access all his work in the yearly archives by author:
2004 || 2005 || 2006 || 2007 || 2008 || 2009 || 2010 || 2011 || 2012
(Swans - June 6, 2005) "The career of avant-garde director Peter Brooks as told by Charles Marowitz, who worked with Brooks during the 1960s Royal Shakespeare Company and the Theatre of Cruelty. More...
An Appreciation Of Christopher Fry: 1907-2005
(Swans - July 18, 2005) A personal look at the life of director Christopher Fry. More...
(Swans - November 21, 2005) Charles Marowitz on William Shakespeare as interpreted by Hollywood's ripoffs and uncinematic interpretations -- how would William respond? More...
Musings From The Black Swan [Swans 10th Anniversary]
(Swans - May 8, 2006) On the tenth anniversary of Swans, Charles Marowitz shares his experience in the early days at New York's Village Voice and England's Encore Magazine, viewing Swans as an incarnation of those days, yet longing for the militancy of yore. More...
(Swans - December 17, 2007) 2007 demonstrated that the pathology of American democracy is a Weltanschauung that runs far deeper than replacing one politician for another can cure. More...
(Swans - December 31, 2007 - January 1, 2008) On the death of writer Ivan Gold, Charles Marowitz shares the joy of his closest friendship and the profound grief over the loss of the one who defined his very being. More...
(Swans - May 4, 2009) America's new national pastime, Twittering, reveals the depths of indulgent triviality to which our culture has sunk and could very well be a contributing factor to the ongoing economic meltdown. More...
(Swans - September 7, 2009) The Stupid appear to have an advantage over the Smart when it comes to social reform in America, by smartly enlisting fear-mongering techniques and defining reform as government dictatorship. More...
(Swans - February 22, 2010) Charles Marowitz discovers his previously unpublished interview with T.S. Eliot at the Faber and Faber publishing house, London, circa 1957. More...
(Swans - September 6, 2010) Charles Marowitz remembers the legendary Laurence Olivier and his first-hand experiences with Britain's national treasure. More...
(Swans - August 15, 2011) Charles Marowitz looks beyond Elia Kazan's testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee and asserts that it's time to honor his unsurpassed mastery and potent imagination that fertilized some of America's most treasured playwrights and inspired many of its greatest performers. More...
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