The Diaries of Judith Malina, 1958-1971 collects the diaries of Judith Malina-artist, activist, and lifelong diarist-from a seismic period of her life and a formative era for her company with The Living Theatre. This book is part of scholar Kate Bredeson's larger project to gather, edit, and introduce Malina's unpublished diaries.
This volume covers 13 years as Malina records her days, beginning in New York and ending in Ouro Preto, Brazil. During this decade-plus, Malina experienced profound transformation as she co-led The Living Theatre while it opened its first theatre space in New York, saw her theatre seized by the IRS, lived and toured in Europe, travelled to Morocco to discuss a split of the company, and relocated to Brazil to launch a new phase of personal and professional work. Malina's scrupulous diaries record The Living's extraordinary activities, illustrate the thinking of a key figure in late-twentieth-century theatre, and paint a dazzling portrait of the times in which she lived.
Bredeson includes a significant critical introduction that situates Malina's legacy in theatre history, discusses the influence of her theatre, examines the genre of diary-keeping, and spotlights Malina's work as an artist, activist, and diarist.