Houdini: A Verse Drama to Be Spoken or Sung

Muriel Rukeyser's previously unpublished play presents the captivating life of Harry Houdini, one of our country's most intriguing celebrities. The play is magical, sexy, and provocative-presenting Houdini's life from his Brooklyn childhood and tricks (picking up pins with his eyelids) and his young romance with wife Bess, to his relationship with his mother; from picking the lock of a jail and releasing his circus companions to Houdini's Congressional Hearing and his famous escape acts. Part biography, part fantasy, Rukeyser explores issues that tap into desire, race, family, and politics. Houdini was performed once in Lenox, Massachusetts in the early 70's, with Christopher Walken playing the lead. This lost drama will appeal to theater people, Houdini fans, poets, magicians, and anyone interested in the interplay between reality and the imagination. How much of our lives do we conjure? Rooted in the early 70's, but timeless in its underlying theme, Houdini joins the Rukeyser resurgence that is well underway. Muriel Rukeyser (1913-1980) is one of our country's most influential, yet neglected writers. She published fifteen collections of poetry, translations, childrens books, and several works of nonfiction. Her "toys of fame" include the Yale Younger Poets Award, the Copernicus Award from the Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Shelley Memorial Award. She served as president of P.E.N. American Center from 1975 to 1976.Rukeyser, Muriel is the author of 'Houdini: A Verse Drama to Be Spoken or Sung' with ISBN 9781930464001 and ISBN 1930464002.