Sinclair Beiles relaxing in the garden

Sinclair Beiles relaxing in the garden of his house in Yeoville, Johannesbirg, 1994.

Photo: dawie malan

Sinclair Beiles with Gil Scott-Heron

Sinclair Beiles with US poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron, Yeoville, Johannesburg, 1994.

Photo: Unisa library archives, manuscript collection number 143.

Sinclair Beiles: The Action Poet

A poem card published by Cold Turkey Press, France. The first side is a photograph of Beiles believed to have been taken in Johannesburg in the early 1980s. The reverse is Beiles's poem 'The Action Poet' from the collection the Idiot's Voice, soon to be published by Cold Turkey Press, in both French and English.

Nothing is True: Everything is Permitted: The Life of Brion Gysin by John Geiger

Nothing is True Everything is Permitted is a biography of Brion Gysin (1916-1986) - artist, novelist, poet and one of the collaborators with Sinclair Beiles on Minutes To Go.

As is usual with books dealing with the Beat Hotel and Minutes To Go, Beiles doesn't exactly take centre stage, but in this book he does get slightly more mentions. In addition to quoting Beiles, Geiger mentions that he was the author of several collections of poetry (usually only Houses of Joy - which was published in 1959 - and Minutes To Go are mentioned).

What is particularly noticeable is that his mental illness is not referred to, and overall there is a sense that Geiger treats Beiles with more respect than most Beat biographers.

Dispossessed by Sinclair Beiles

A poem poster courtesy of Cold Turkey Press, France

Towers Open Fire - a film by Antony Balch and William Burroughs, 1963

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.

Review of Who was Sinclair Beiles? by Christopher Nosnibor

Sinclair Beiles was a friend of the Beats, lived at the Beat Hotel when it was all happening, had a hand in editing William Burroughs’ seminal novel Naked Lunch, was a prolific poet and led an eventful life. Yet strangely, he remains largely unknown. Who Was Sinclair Beiles? attempts to address this matter. This volume may be slim, but plugs a very big gap in the coverage given to the criminally underrated poet Sinclair Beiles...Read more here

Covers of Deliria and Sacred Fix, published by Cold Turkey Press

Photo: courtesy of Cold Turkey Press archive.

Deliria was first published by Cold Turkey Press, Rotterdam in 1971, then reprinted by Small Spaces Press, Johannesburg in 1995. Sacred Fix was published by Cold Turkey Press in 1975.

Sinclair Beiles in New Writers 3, published by John Calder, 1965

Sinclair Beiles was one of the writers featured this issue of the New Writers series published by John Calder in the 1960s. Beiles's contribution is small - just four poems covering 15 pages in an overall volume of 130 pages - but the fact that he was recognised and included by such a prestigious avant-garde publisher of that time is evidence of the value of his work.

The other contributors were David Mercer, Alexander Trocchi and Nick Rawson.

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.