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

The Impossible Parish and Birds, by Sinclair Beiles

Published in Poems Under Suspicion and Poems on Bits of Paper: A Dual Anthology by Sinclair Beiles and Marta Proctor, Two Cities, Johannesburg, 1982.

Title page of Poems Under Suspicion and Poems on Bits of Paper: A Dual Anthology by Sinclair Beiles and Marta Proctor

Published by Two Cities, Johannesburg, 1982. 

Greek Interlude by Marta Proctor

Chabook of poems published in 1982. Two Cities Editions was a local imprint created by Sinclair Beiles and his wife Marta Proctor,  mirroring Jean Fanchette's Two Cities, in Paris.

Thus, despite the location of the imprint on the cover given as 'Paris', my impression is that the chapbook was in fact published in South Africa.

Offerings of Fire by Marta Proctor

Offerings of Fire by Sinclair Beiles's wife Marta Proctor, published in 1985 by Two Cities Johannesburg and Two Cities Paris. Sinclair wrote the introduction to this chapbook of 24 poems.

Familiar Strangers

Familiar Strangers was a small anthology of poetry privately published circa 1991. It was co-edited by Sinclair Beiles and Marta Proctor Beiles, with thanks to Ian Tromp for his assistance. It contains work by Robert Berold, Walter Saunders, Marta Proctor Beiles, Sinclair Beiles and Martin Jacklin. The cover was designed by Marta Proctor Beiles.

Sinclair Beiles on surrealist poetry

'Most surrealist poetry became mannered and in its quest for unusual relationships between words, and ideas, was set down at the expense of feelings and motives. The poems became beautiful seashells devoid of life.'

Sinclair Beiles, from the introduction to Marta Proctor's Offering of fire.