Michael John Fles
Encyclopedia
Michael John Fles known both as John Fles and Michael Fles, is an American poet
, editor
, musician
and film
personality. Professor David James referred to him as "the single most important promoter of underground film" in Los Angeles, California
.
father, George Fles
, and a British
mother, Pearl Rimel. As conscious communists
, his parents had moved to the Soviet Union
, where his father fell victim to Joseph Stalin
's Great Purge
. The mother, pregnant with Michael John, left the Soviet Union to give birth in London
. Mother and son later emigrated to the United States
, where Pearl Rimel found employment in the aircraft industry. Michael John grew up in Los Angeles
and Ojai, California
, where he graduated from the Ojai Valley School
in 1951.
, but did not graduate. While a student, he became the managing editor of the Chicago Review. In 1959 Fles was involved in the founding of the influential literary magazine Big Table. Later he was the editor of The Trembling Lamb, a one shot literary magazine which published Antonin Artaud
's "Van Gogh: The Man Suicided by Society", LeRoi Jones
's "The System of Dante's Inferno", and Carl Solomon
's "Danish Impase". In 1960 and 1961 he was a managing and contributing editor of Kulchur. During all these years he published his poetry
far and wide.
Over the last several decades, he has been active as a musician. Fles lives in Trinidad, California
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
personality. Professor David James referred to him as "the single most important promoter of underground film" in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Biography
Michael John Fles was born to a DutchNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
father, George Fles
George Fles
George Fles was a Dutch translator with a strong communist conviction. He fell victim to Stalin's repressions.George was born in 1908 in Amsterdam, as the youngest son of Louis Fles and Celine van Straaten. He spent time in France and in the United Kingdom, where he married Pearl Rimel...
, and a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
mother, Pearl Rimel. As conscious communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, his parents had moved to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, where his father fell victim to Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
. The mother, pregnant with Michael John, left the Soviet Union to give birth in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Mother and son later emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where Pearl Rimel found employment in the aircraft industry. Michael John grew up in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and Ojai, California
Ojai, California
Ojai is a city in Ventura County, California, USA. It is situated in the Ojai Valley , surrounded by hills and mountains. The population was 7,461 at the 2010 census, down from 7,862 at the 2000 census.-History:Chumash Indians were the early inhabitants of the valley...
, where he graduated from the Ojai Valley School
Ojai Valley School
Ojai Valley School is a co-educational independent boarding school located on in the Ojai Valley and the town of Ojai, California, United States. The school was founded in 1911 and offers pre-kindergarten through 12 grade education....
in 1951.
Beat poet and editor
Fles studied at the University of ChicagoUniversity of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, but did not graduate. While a student, he became the managing editor of the Chicago Review. In 1959 Fles was involved in the founding of the influential literary magazine Big Table. Later he was the editor of The Trembling Lamb, a one shot literary magazine which published Antonin Artaud
Antonin Artaud
Antoine Marie Joseph Artaud, more well-known as Antonin Artaud was a French playwright, poet, actor and theatre director...
's "Van Gogh: The Man Suicided by Society", LeRoi Jones
Amiri Baraka
Amiri Baraka , formerly known as LeRoi Jones, is an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism...
's "The System of Dante's Inferno", and Carl Solomon
Carl Solomon
Carl Solomon was an American writer.-Biography:Solomon was born in the Bronx of New York City. His father's death in 1939 had a profoundly negative effect on his early life...
's "Danish Impase". In 1960 and 1961 he was a managing and contributing editor of Kulchur. During all these years he published his poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
far and wide.
Film personality and musician
In 1963 he founded the Movies Round Midnight program with Mike Getz. He ran the program until 1965. From 1962 and into 1980s he wrote over a dozen movie scripts, usually with co-authors.Over the last several decades, he has been active as a musician. Fles lives in Trinidad, California
Trinidad, California
Trinidad is a seaside city in Humboldt County, located on the Pacific Ocean north of the Arcata-Eureka Airport and north of the college town of Arcata...
.
Poetry
- 1957 - Arrow-less Alleys (Three Penny Press)
- 1957 - Beat and Beatific, with Gene Maslow (Three Penny Press)
- 1958 - Testament (Three Penny Press)
- 1959 - Lawrence Lies Crucified (Three Penny Press)
- 1964 - Doon Glyn, Summer 1963 (self-published)
Screenplays
- 1958 - The Man Who Lived Underground, with John Evans after a story by Richard WrightRichard Wright (author)Richard Nathaniel Wright was an African-American author of sometimes controversial novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction. Much of his literature concerns racial themes, especially those involving the plight of African-Americans during the late 19th to mid 20th centuries...
(unpublished)
Nonfiction
- 1964 - Seeing is Believing (self-published)
Articles
- 1960 - "The End of the Affair, or Beyond the Beat Generation", Village Voice 6 (8) (Dec 15): 4, 12.
- 1960 - "The Root", Kulchur 1960 (Spring): 39-40
- 1961 - "The Great Chicago Poetry Reading", Swank 8 (1) (March) 65-68.
- 1961 - "Uncle Bill Borroughs' Guided Tour: Naked Lunch", Swank 8, (3) (July): 50.
- 1964 - "Are Movies Junk?", Film CultureFilm CultureFilm Culture was an American film magazine started by Adolfas Mekas and his brother Jonas Mekas in 1954, and is now defunct. It is best known for exploring the avant-garde cinema in depth, but also published articles on all aspects of cinema, including Hollywood films.Past contributors include...
29.
Book chapters
- 1995 - "Sound Wave Mirror", chapter 11 in Kenny CB (editor): Listening, Playing, Creating: Essays on the Power of Sound. Albany, New YorkAlbany, New YorkAlbany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
: State University of New York PressState University of New York PressThe State University of New York Press , is a university press and a Center for Scholarly Communication. The Press is part of the State University of New York system and is located in Albany, New York.- History :...
.