I met Fritz Peters as a boy in chapter twelve of his 1964 memoir Boyhood with Gurdjieff, about his stay at the boarding school/institute outside of Paris run by the philosopher-mystic George Gurdjieff. In that chapter he tells about the visits that he and his brother Tom had with Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas in 1920s Paris. Those visits prompted me to write my picture book Gertrude and Alice and Fritz and Tom.
Now more than 100 years after his birth, five of his major books are back in print published by Hirsch Giovanni Publishing. See the 100th birthday tribute I posted in 2013 https://gertrudeandalice.com/blog/2013/03/02/fritz-peters-at-100-a-tribute-by-any-other-name/
The books including Boyhood with Gurdjieff, Gurdjieff Remembered, Finestère, The Descent, and The World Next Door are reissued in playful, jellybean colored paperback editions. A screenplay is being written for Finestère and audio editions of Finestère and Boyhood with Gurdjieff have been produced. Plus, a documentary of his life is in the works.
Boyhood with Gurdjieff , the first of the two memoirs, offers a story-filled account of his stay with Gurdjieff where he was not only Boy Friday, but also Boy-the-Rest-of-the-Week, as well as being groomed as the mystic’s successor. The remaining three novels draw heavily on mental health issues many prompted by Fritz’s military experiences and his life as a closeted gay man.
As this year’s Pride Month ends, the rediscovery and re-appreciation of this incredible writer are something to be truly proud of. Pick up one of his new editions.
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