Gurdjieff Group Work with Rita Romilly Benson - Paperback

by W. Marshall May (Author)

GURDJIEFF GROUP WORK with Rita Romilly Benson - Softcover, 260Pages $19.95 + shipping An exposition of the ways in which this direct student of G. I. Gurdjieff passed on his teachings and applied his methods in the1960's and 70's. Mrs. Benson was a student of G. I. Gurdjieff and his Fourth Way teachings and a group leader at the New York Foundation for over 50 years. This book was compiled and edited by one of her students for 21 years until her death in 1980. It contains transcripts of meetings of her Gurdjieff groups, her Tradition studies group and her Bunraku puppet groups (also with pictures) plus scores of poignant quotes and comments from her students and members of groups for which she was responsible plus a mini-biography of her career on Broadway and in the theatre with pictures and some critical reviews. This book is for those interested in the ideas and teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff, M. and Mme. Ouspensky, Mme. Jeanne de Salzmann, Orage, Nicoll, Pentland, Segal, Welch, Fremantle, Bennett, Nyland, Walker, Wolfe, and many more of his students. Mrs. Benson also was instrumental in the presentation of Mr. Gurdjieff's then unpublished books and lectures and was known as "The Reader" for her presentations at many venues from 1928 through the end of the 1940's. Originally a student of Alfred Orage she was also close to C. Daly King, his biographer, Jean Toomer, and both Mme. de Salzmann and Mme. Olga de Hartmann as well as Henri Tracol. She was tireless in her efforts to pass on the principles, tasks, and ideas of the work experience to her pupils and all who came in contact with her. In addition, she always said her husband Martin Benson was 'one of her secret weapons.' When David Appelbaum, publisher of 'Martin Benson Speaks' saw an early draft of the material, he said: "You have a manuscript of historical significance. It records the thoughts and work of a figure of a certain era of the New York work in great detail. It shows how the work appeared at that stage of its unfolding, and through the exchanges how it affected students like yourself... No doubt you and others have put considerable labor into bringing the notes to this point. That work should not be lost."