Michael John Fles (born 11 November 1936), known both as John Fles and Michael Fles, is an

American poet The poets listed below were either born in the United States or else published much of their poetry while living in that country. A B C D E F G H I–J K L M N O P Q *George Quasha (born 1942 in poetry, 1942) R ...

, editor, musician and film personality. Professor David James referred to him as "the single most important promoter of underground film" in Los Angeles.

Early life

Michael John Fles was born to a Dutch father,

George Fles George "Sjoppie" Fles (; 1908–1939) was a Dutch translator with a strong communist conviction. He fell victim to Stalin 's repressions. Personal life George was born in 1908 in Amsterdam, as the youngest son of Louis Fles and Celine van Str ...

, and a British mother, Pearl Rimel. As conscious

communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

, his parents had moved to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, where his father fell victim to

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

. The mother, pregnant with Michael John, had 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 Ojai ( ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east– ...

, where he graduated from the Ojai Valley School in 1950.

Career

Beat poet and editor

Fles studied philosophy at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, but did not graduate. While a student, he became the managing editor of the ''

Chicago Review ''Chicago Review'' is a student-run literary magazine founded in 1946 and published quarterly in the Humanities Division at the University of Chicago. The magazine features contemporary poetry, fiction, and criticism, often publishing works in tr ...

''. 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 that published

Antonin Artaud Antoine Maria Joseph Paul Artaud (; ; 4September 18964March 1948), better known as Antonin Artaud, was a French artist who worked across a variety of media. He is best known for his writings, as well as his work in the theatre and cinema. Widely ...

's "Van Gogh: The Man Suicided by Society", LeRoi Jones's "The System of Dante's Inferno", and

Carl Solomon Carl Solomon (March 30, 1928 – February 26, 1993) was an American writer. One of his best-known pieces of writing is ''Report from the Asylum: Afterthoughts of a Shock Patient''. Biography Solomon was born in the New York City borough of the ...

's "Danish Impasse". In 1960 and 1961 he was a managing and contributing editor of ''

Kulchur Dr. Lita Romola Rothbard Hornick (1927–2000) was an American literary researcher, editor, publisher, patron of poets, and art collector, best known for the beatnik magazine ''Kulchur'' that she turned into the Kulchur Foundation. Life and career ...

''. During all these years he published his poetry far and wide.

Film personality and musician

In October 1963 he founded the Movies Round Midnight program at the Cinema Theatre at 1122 N. Western Ave. in Los Angeles, along with Mike Getz. He ran the program until 1965. From 1962 and into the 1980s he wrote over a dozen movie scripts, usually with co-authors. Since, Fles has been active as a musician and music therapist, in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Israel. He lives in

Trinidad, California Trinidad (Spanish language, Spanish for "Trinity"; Yurok language, Yurok: ''Chuerey'') is a seaside city in Humboldt County, California, Humboldt County, located on the Pacific Ocean north of the Arcata-Eureka Airport and north of the college ...

and is now retired.

Bibliography

Poetry

* 1957 – ''Arrow-less Alleys'' (Three Penny Press) * 1957 – ''Beat and Beatific'' (Three Penny Press), with Gene Maslow * 1958 – ''Testament'' (Three Penny Press) * 1959 – ''Lawrence Lies Crucified'' (Three Penny Press) * 1964 – ''Doon Glyn, Summer 1963'' (self-published)

Fiction

* 1958 – ''The Man Who Lived Underground'' (unpublished screenplay), with John Evans after a story by Richard Wright

Nonfiction

* 1960 – "The End of the Affair, or Beyond the Beat Generation", ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Ma ...

'' 6 (8) (15 Dec): 4, 12. * 1960 – "The Root", ''

'' 1960 (Spring): 39–41 * 1961 – "The Great Chicago Poetry Reading", '' Swank'' 8 (1) (March) 65–68, 70. * 1961 – "Uncle Bill Burroughs' Guided Tour:

Naked Lunch ''Naked Lunch'' (first published as ''The Naked Lunch'') is a 1959 novel by American author William S. Burroughs. The novel does not follow a clear linear plot, but is instead structured as a series of non-chronological "routines". Many of thes ...

", ''Swank'' 8 (3) (July): 50. * 1963 – * 1963 – "Are Movies Junk?", ''

Film Culture ''Film Culture'' was an American film magazine started by Adolfas Mekas and his brother Jonas Mekas in 1954. History The publication's headquarters were in New York City. Best known for exploring the avant-garde cinema in depth (especial ...

'' 29, republished as * 1964 – * 1995 – "Sound Wave Mirror", chapter 11 in Kenny CB (editor): ''Listening, Playing, Creating: Essays on the Power of Sound''.

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

State University of New York Press The State University of New York Press (more commonly referred to as the SUNY Press) is a university press affiliated with the State University of New York system. The press, which was founded in 1966, is located in Albany, New York and publishe ...

References

External links

Michael John Fles
1959 photos at

Getty Images Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (stylized as gettyimages) is a visual media company and supplier of stock images, editorial photography, video, and music for business and consumers, with a library of over 477 million assets. It targets three mark ...

Sahaja
2014 musical video produced by Shody Ryon
2017 interview
of Michael Fles {{DEFAULTSORT:Fles, Michael John 1936 births Living people Film people from Los Angeles American magazine editors American modernist poets American non-fiction writers American people of Dutch-Jewish descent Beat Generation poets Beat Generation writers English emigrants to the United States Jewish American musicians Jewish American poets Music therapists Musicians from London Musicians from Los Angeles People from Ojai, California People from Trinidad, California University of Chicago alumni Poets from London Poets from Los Angeles 20th-century American poets 20th-century American musicians 21st-century American musicians 21st-century American Jews