News

Good news to all about the new Howarth Gurdjieff Archive, on the occasion of Dushka’s birthday month!

The archive provides a wealth of previously unpublished multimedia resources for Gurdjieff Movements teachers and musicians who play for Movements classes.

We are pleased that the final library shipments of the Gurdjieff Movements resources and Dushka Howarth’s other archive materials are due by end of September. Next, the research department of the New York Public Library, the Jerome Robbins Dance Division, begins its own archiving process to provide an on-line catalog and non-circulating, public archive access in its secured reading room located at Lincoln Center, NY, NY.

This extensive paper, photographic and mixed media collection at NYPL will be called the “Howarth Gurdjieff Archive. ” It is intended to be cross-referenced with other materials at NYPL related to the Gurdjieff Work. Much of the archive contents will be publicly available for the first time.

In the coming months, look in the NYPL on-line catalog and Finding Aids on the NYPL website for what is publicly available:
http://catalog.nypl.org

We all owe much heartfelt thanks for a wide range of volunteer assistance and donations from supporters around the world. They enabled the preliminary preparations needed for the NYPL curators to assimilate the massive archive collection more effectively.

We are also grateful to NYPL for the Performing Arts which, after a year of exploration and deliberations following Dushka Howarth’s death, accepted the voluminous Howarth Gurdjieff Archive. NYPL is now the permanent repository of original Gurdjieff Movements resource materials, many of which become more fragile with age and require preservation expertise. These rare original materials were assembled by Jessmin Howarth and her daughter Dushka Howarth (daughter of George I. Gurdjieff), both renown international Gurdjieff Movements authorities.

With the Howarth Gurdjieff Archive now at NYPL as an invaluable resource for the authentic transmission of the Gurdjieff Movements, the Gurdjieff Heritage Society Inc will focus on other aspects of its mission. This is a new opportunity for anyone who wishes to continue on-going support, or to newly join in. We especially wish to hear again from experienced Movements teachers who expressed an interest in helping with the preliminary archive preparations, but could not because of time or distance limitations. Now we have a new capacity for such volunteer Movements teachers to help remotely over the internet.

In particular, an experiment is being considered to form up to three informal
voluntary “advisory groups.” These groups could be connected through the internet
to facilitate international participation, support effective use of the archive at NYPL,
make suggestions and/or provide relevant expertise for future related activities.

If you or someone you know has a special interest or expertise related to any of the following, please join our email distribution list now. Unless you have already done so, please re-join to fill out our brief survey form which is intended to guide later follow-up regarding possible advisory groups:

1) Gurdjieff Movements
2) Gurdjieff Music
3) publication of a possible future second edition of the Howarth memoirs in the future, and/or appropriate archive materials, including “IT’S UP TO OURSELVES”, A Mother A Daughter and Gurdjieff, a shared memoir and family photo album.”

The on-line links to join the email distribution list,
or to re-join for survey questions,
are found at www.GurdjieffHeritageSociety.org until September 30th, and
continuing thereafter at www.Gurdjieff-Heritage-Society.org.

In any event, we hope you make good use of the Howarth Gurdjieff Archive, soon and in many years to come.

With best wishes –
Gurdjieff Heritage Society, Inc.

Today I posted the information regarding Dushka’s Estate, included is her last requests, her intentions, and her will. We at GHS believe Dushka, knowing her straight forward openness, would approve this. We have received requests for information about her intentions regarding her collection of Gurdjieff related movements and other items of important value, and her intent to make certain that it would be available for public viewing.

–Stephen E. Foster (Webmaster) please address any comment or inquiry to inquiries@box2163.temp.domains

The “Howarth Gurdjieff Archive” has been officially accepted by the research department of the New York Public Library. A significant portion of Dushka Howarth’s personal collection related to the Gurdjieff Work, Gurdjieff Movements and music, has been delivered to the research department at the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts in New York, NY. Many thanks for the recent generous donations and other assistance through the years from supporters who helped make this possible. There is still much more archival preparation work to be done.

For more detailed news, see both current and continuing updates at http://www.GurdjieffHeritageSociety.org.
After giving NYPL several months for their intake process, you may call the Jerome Robbins Dance Division to inquire about the anticipated date of availability at (212) 870-1657.

Work continues by the Gurdjieff Heritage Society, Inc. to prepare the remaining voluminous and fragile archive materials from Dushka Howarth’s estate, including materials from Jessmin Howarth’s original Movements notes and resources, before future delivery to the NYPL research department.

For more information how to help, check periodically at http://www.GurdjieffHeritageSociety.org

Work is in progress by the Gurdjieff Heritage Society, Inc. to continue the process started earlier by Dushka Howarth to transfer her archive materials to the research division of the New York Public Library. The archive includes materials related to the Gurdjieff Movements and music, since both Dushka Howarth and her mother Jessmin Howarth studied Movements directly with Mr. Gurdjieff during the earliest years and were widely known authorities on their original transmission.

A newer website at http:// www.GurdjieffHeritageSociety.org provides a link for on-line tax-deductible contributions for the much needed support for this effort, through an affiliated, supporting non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status.

The newer website at http:// www.GurdjieffHeritageSociety.org also has periodic updates regarding progress with the “Howarth Gurdjieff Archive.” Anyone interested in being informed when Dushka’s archive of Work materials has been situated for appropriate access for study purposes, please check either website periodically and join the Gurdjieff Heritage Society email list.

Your informing us of your interest in, any volunteer assistance for, this important archival Work resource is vital and needed support to the overall archive project.

Archive updates (after the death of Dushka Howarth in 2010), in reverse chronological order:

September 2011
The first transfer of archive materials to the New York Public Library occurred in September. Over 100 published books related to the Gurdjieff Fourth Way Work and its students, which NYPL did not already have in its existing collections, were sent to NYPL research division at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street. These books are being assimilated by NYPL, and are beginning to be available to the public as research materials. Many are rare, out-of-print, limited editions, private publications, and/or with notations by elders of the Work community.
You can see a list of the books sent to NYPL at http://www.GurdjieffHeritageSociety.org/pages/ghs-nypl1109-104books.html. You can also look for them in the NYPL on-line catalog at http://catalog.nypl.org. Use your imagination when searching the NYPL on-line catalog. Besides using “Author” and “Title” categories for your searches, you can also

(a) use “keywords” category to search authors and titles more broadly,

(b) use English titles and keywords to find non-English materials, and

(c) try alternate spellings. For example, P. D. Ouspensky is coded as “Uspenskiĭ, P D” by the NYPL.

December 2011
The future archive collection is expected to be established in the research division of the New York Public Library, under the name “Howarth Gurdjieff Archive,” with cross-references to materials already in NYPL about the Gurdjieff Work.
 
Much of the Howarth Gurdjieff Archive is intended primarily to serve as study materials for Gurdjieff Movements teachers and musicians. Other archive materials are of more general interest.

The Howarth Gurdjieff Archive is expected to be available according to NYPL policies for research collections, for visitors to the NYPL branches where the Howarth Gurdjieff Archive materials will reside (to be determined).
 
Establishing an archive collection at NYPL is a lengthy process, so please check back for further updates on either of our websites, as archive materials become available over time. If you wish to be added to the list of those who have requested email notifications, kindly join the Gurdjieff Heritage Society e-mail list as requested above**.
Thank you for your interest and patience. We hope you will make good and appropriate use of the archive materials as they become available, as Dushka wished.

On Sunday morning, May 9, In Memory of Dushka, a Mass was celebrated at St. Vartan’s Cathedral. Later, a Requiem Service began around noon. As it was Mother’s Day, Jessmin Howarth’s name was included. That evening an intimate service was held at 4:40 in the Chapel where Dushka’s remains were transferred from a lovely urn made by Sylvia March to the permanent church urn. A Vespers Service was then held at 5:00pm May 9, which included Dushka’s inurnment.

Summary of Events, May 21, 2010 at St. Peter’s for Dushka’s Memorial Service:

Port o’ Monkeys Band ~ Dushka singing ~ An appreciation of Dushka — Patty de Llosa (text below) ~ Dick Hyman at the piano ~ Speaking of Dushka — Lillian Firestone & others ~ Poem – Robert Schneck ~ Lord’s Prayer in Russian -The Foundation Choir ~ Georgian “Kartuli” – Victor Sirelson and Partner ~ Gurdjieff music: Duduki and Easter Hymn and Procession in the Holy Night – Meg Sinclair ~ Greek Dance – Livia Vanaver and attendees.

(Patty de Llosa): “As Dushka’s oldest friend here, we grew up together, it falls on me to welcome everyone to this celebration of her life. So welcome to the many who’ve come from the Gurdjieff Foundation, and those from Warwick and Claymont and Philadelphia and the West Coast. Welcome all! Dushka’s ashes are right over there…

What’s that? Excuse me? Dushka? You’d like to welcome them yourself with a song? Ok.
(DUSHKA SINGS)

When I think of Dushka, three words come to mind: Talent, Fidelity and Courage. She and I had extraordinary parents*, hard to live up to, so I know she had a struggle to become her own person. You will read about her in the small biography in your program, but let me say that at 25 she spent time with her father, G. I. Gurdjieff in the last year of his life and recorded much of the music he played on the harmonium, which has recently become available to the public.

She started off as a publicist for up and coming young stars of stage and screen, including Dick Hyman, who has come here tonight to help us celebrate. Her talent showed up as she learned the guitar and began to sing and play in performance, finally becoming a cruise entertainment leader on the Greek Line.

When her mother became elderly she left that job and came home to be with her. That’s where the loyalty comes in. And the courage? After her Mother died she taught herself computer techniques and in spite of heart attacks, fractures and illnesses which left her bedridden in the last few years, she put together a book which she published early this year, It’s Up to Ourselves: A Mother, A Daughter and Gurdjieff. So perseverance is another word we can apply to her.

Excuse me, Folks. Dushka’s talking to me again. Enough talking? You want a dance? Is Livia anywhere around? And you want to know where’s Dick Hyman? He’s right over there and he’s going to play for us after the dance”.

[RIBBON DANCE
DICK HYMAN PLAYS]

“Have I mentioned Dushka’s adopted son? I bet you didn’t know she had one! But it’s Robert Schneck, who will read a poem he wrote for Dushka.”

One of the people who has most cared for and taken care of Dushka in the last few years when she was bedridden is Lillian Firestone. Lillian will be the MC for the rest of the evening”.

–Patty de Llosa
*Patty is daughter of Dr. William and Louise Welch