Who was Sinclair Beiles? at the Beat Hotel Revisited

Excerpts from Who was Sinclair Beiles? will be read by French actor Emmanuel Barrouyer at the Beat Hotel Revisited event in Paris on Friday, 3 November 2017. The event is organised by Tsunami Gang, Tsunami Books and Paris Surrealiste, and presented by Henrik Aeshna and Steve Dalachinsky.

A headstone for a poet who moved to a different beat

An article recently appeared in South African Jewish Report about the unmarked grave of Sinclair Beiles in Westpark Cemetery, Johannesburg. There are several inaccuracies in the article, as well as spelling mistakes. I also did not take the photo of Beiles's grave that appears in the article. When the journalist contacted me, I thought she was referring to some photos of Beiles's grave that I had posted on Facebook a few years back.

The once prolific yet totally unsung and overlooked poet, died 17 years ago and to this day no one has honoured him with a tombstone befitting a man who lived a less than ordinary life.

Sinclair Simon Maurice Beiles was arguably South Africa’s best Beat Generation poet. He was once described by the legendary beloved Jewish singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen as “one of the best poets of the century”. Read more