Dancing with Fred Astaire: Jonas Mekas with Amy Taubin

Filmmaker, critic, and poet Jonas Mekas has had an extraordinary life in the arts, playing an instrumental role in the careers of Jack Smith, Andy Warhol, and numerous other iconic artists as well as hanging out with everyone from Maya Deren to John Lennon and Yoko Ono, from Tiny Tim to Salvador Dalí, from the Kennedys to Fred Astaire. In A Dance with Fred Astaire (Anthology Editions), Mekas recalls his many chance encounters, intimate exchanges, and lasting friendships with some of the past century’s most iconic and beloved artists. Whether stealing Anaïs Nin’s cookies, living alongside Janis Joplin and Patti Smith in the Chelsea Hotel, contemplating life and death with Allen Ginsberg, or meeting Timothy Leary, Arthur Miller, Lenny Bruce and so many more, Mekas has spent 94 years weaving himself inextricably into the very fabric of American culture.

In this special one-night-only program, Mekas will not only discuss the stories in the book with film critic Amy Taubin, he will also present a selection of short 16mm films he has curated from the Library’s Reserve Film and Video Collection. The films amplify anecdotes in A Dance with Fred Astaire and represent some of the incredible filmmakers whose lives and work have intersected with Mekas’s. Selections include:

• Choreography for Camera (1945, dir. Maya Deren, 4 min.)


•  Notebook (1962–1963, dir. Marie Menken, 10 min.)


• Little Stabs of Happiness (1963, dir. Ken Jacobs, 18 min.)


• Castro Street (1966, dir. Bruce Baillie, 10 min.)


• Arnulf Rainer (1960, dir. Peter Kubelka, 12 min.)


• Eaux D'Artifice (1953, dir. Kenneth Anger, 13 min. )

Grab a drink and a treat before the program! Refreshments and snacks will be available for sale immediately outside the venue.

Books will be available for sale and, following the program, signing.

FIRST COME, FIRST SEATED
For free events, we generally overbook to ensure a full house. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance, but registration does not guarantee admission. All registered seats are released 15 minutes before start time, and seats may become available at that time. A stand by line will form one hour before the program.