Judith Malina

A rare, historical recording by Judith Malina, who started The Living Theatre together with Julian Beck back in 1947. Their plays were free from commercial considerations and limiting conventions, they taught how to be free from the state, to oppose the war in every form. One of their most famous pieces was Paradise Now, a psychedelic masterpiece play based on the Kabbala and the I Ching. This tape documents Malina’s poetry. In the words of Ira Cohen: “These are poems of a war-horse, who eschews every form of war except the battle of the soul to do better or someone who never doubted clouds would break, who never dreamed that wrong would triumph. Accompanied by Julian Beck, her presiding eagle-angel of anarchism… even in death he lights her way, still the muezzin sings, calling our hearts to prayer and to action, always to action. These are poems of the Star Tribe, and as the lady says, “Come swiftly, o sweet reconciliation!” These are poems of light and darkness and I cannot help but be reminded, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness comprehendeth it not.” These lines in the Bible have never been far from my thoughts from the first time I read them, and now Judith takes me to that place in myself which restores the hope that the darkness will and does indeed comprehend it, that we in our own struggle to know and to do, will also be comprehended.” Recorded by Brad Burgess and Louise Landes Levi. Cover by Christopher Felver. Edition of 100 copies.