Yvonne Rainer to Publish Book of Poems
The extraordinary modern dancer, choreographer, artist and filmmaker Yvonne Rainer, most recently the author of the memoir, Feelings are Facts: a Life (published by MIT Press in 2006), can now add poet to her hyphenates. Badlands Unlimited, a press started in 2010 with a focus on limited-edition books, e-books, and artist works, will be publishing Rainer's Poems this fall. A collection of 46 previously unpublished poems, "full of wit and candor, they offer a window into the life and mind of one of America’s greatest living artists." Also, according to the release, the poems will be accompanied by a selection of images (from newspaper clippings to paintings) that Rainer curated, with an introduction by poet and art critic Tim Griffin.
Rainer was born in 1934 in San Francisco, and went on to organize the Judson Dance Theater, an epicenter for the community of experimental and minimalist dance workers in the 1960s. Known for her demystification of dance, she turned to filmmaking in the early 1970s, making Film About A Woman Who..., and Journeys from Berlin/1971, among others (many of these films, including screenplays, sound recordings, letters, and essays on her work can be found on the treasure that is UbuWeb). In March, Rainer presented a new dance piece, called Assisted Living: Good Sports 2 at the Baryshnikov Arts Center for Performa. Drawing on principles developed in her seminal work, Trio A, and other pieces from the 1960s, Rainer’s most recent dances incorporate sports, primarily soccer, as well as old and new pop-culture references. Very curious about the poetry!