"ruth weiss: the Beat Goddess" Wins an Emmy for Best Cultural/Historical Documentary
We are deeply honored to announce that "ruth weiss, the beat goddess" documentary has won an Emmy for Best Cultural/Historical Documentary!
Thank you to the Northern California / San Francisco Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for this prestigious recognition. Special thanks to NETA - National Educational Telecommunications Association for providing a platform for independent filmmakers, and to KQED and other stations for their unwavering support and multiple airings of our film.
Our heartfelt gratitude goes to everyone involved in its creation, from the talented artists behind the scenes to those who shared their loving memories of ruth weiss. This Emmy is a testament to the exceptional teamwork. Thank you all for your support in sharing the remarkable story of ruth weiss with the world.
the film
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In a life that has spanned 92 creative years, ruth weiss is one of the most influential writers of the Beat Generation. Born to a Jewish family during the rise of Nazism, as a 10-year-old refugee, she escaped to the United States. ruth became a Jazz troubadour exemplifying the zeitgeist of Chicago, New Orleans, and San Francisco. In the 1950s, she opened up and organized the first poetry readings in North Beach cafes and bars, giving a platform to many poets. The film further highlights ruth weiss' electrifying and intimate poetry with breathtaking images of exquisite modern dance, art, animation, and music to embody her oeuvre. This film documents not only weiss' gift to humanity but archives significant historical moments in our world's social and literary movements. As a contemporary of Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Jack Kerouac, she innovated poetry to jazz. Legend Herb Caen dubbed ruth weiss as "The Goddess of the Beat Generation" because of her contribution to the culture of North Beach and the Bay Area poetry scene. This Emmy Award-Winning documentary premiered at the Asolo Art Film Festival in Italy, won Best Documentary at the Peekskill Film Festival in New York, won Visionary Women In Film Award at the Santa Cruz Film Festival, won the Jury Award at the Riverside International Film Festival, and is nominated for Best Documentary at 14 other film festivals nationwide. ruth weiss was awarded the 2020 Maverick Spirit Award from the Cinequest Film Festival. This prestigious award is given to influential individuals who embody the independent and innovative mindset and has previously been awarded to Werner Herzog, Harrison Ford, Jackie Chan, and many more. The film is available to view on PBS, Apple TV, Amazon, Kinema, Dreamscape, and more. |
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ruth weiss
ruth weiss as a young child in Berlin.
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ruth weiss is an internationally famous poet, artist, actress, and filmmaker. Born in Berlin, Germany, on June 24, 1928, ruth weiss spent her childhood exploring nature, reading, and writing. When she was four years old, she received a Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale book from her parents. For almost 90 years, those stories of a 1,000 pages inspired her. In 1938, her news editor father Oscar Weiss (Weisz), her mother Flani Weiss (Weisz), and ruth fled Nazi Germany and arrived in The United States. After moving around to find a stable home in New York and Iowa, the family settled in Chicago, Illinois. ruth wrote a poem about how America saved her life, and she sent it to President Roosevelt and received a heartfelt response. At a young age, the already lyrical and rebellious writer ruth changed the spelling of her name from Ruth Weiss to lowercase ruth weiss as a protest of the law-and-order ethos of her birthplace in Germany, where nouns are capitalized.
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ruth graduated from Sullivan High School in Chicago in 1946 at the top of her class. She later attended Neuchâtel College in Switzerland. In 1949, ruth moved back to Chicago and lived at the Art Circle, a house on Chicago's near north side that rented to artists and poets, including Gwendolyn Brooks, who mentored ruth. It was there where painter Earnest Alexander pulled her poem out of the typewriter and chanted for her to read it to the musician friends hanging out in their living room. And like magic, the musicians started to jam to her poetry. ruth then hitchhiked to New Orleans and performed with musicians in watering holes, and painted her hair green to raise awareness of war orphans. |
ruth weiss's graduation picture from Sullivan High School, 1946.
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Photo by C.R. Snyder
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In 1952, ruth heard about the magnificent fog in San Francisco and hitchhiked to see it for herself, making the Bay Area her stomping grounds for decades. ruth contributed to American literary history as a poet associated with word jazz or reading poetry to improvisational jazz music. She is also considered a member of America's Beat Generation (mid-1950s – mid-1970s) and at the forefront of women's rights. ruth weiss has written more than twenty-three books and has performed across Europe and America. She has also directed films such as the Brink, a muse in Stephen Arnold’s films in the 60s-70s, modeled in art schools, wrote theater plays, painted watercolor haiku, loved to dance and dress up. |
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Later ruth settled in the redwood forest of Albion, California, in Mendocino County. She was married to artist Paul Blake for forty-one years. They had no children. ruth says in the documentary ruth weiss, the beat goddess that her poems are her children and will continue her line. It is up to us as her fans to make sure her legacy remembered and celebrated. Some of her most notable books are Can't Stop the Beat, Desert Journal, Steps, Single Out, Light, Full Circle, a Fool’s Journey, and many more. These books you could only get at her intimate poetry readings, however, her book Can't Stop The Beat can be found on ruth weiss, the beat goddess website. Profits from the sale of this book will go to the ruth weiss foundation established to help artists and poets in need. |
ruth weiss in her home in Albin, CA with her Loyal Royal Typewriter. Image from the documentary "ruth weiss, the beat goddess"
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ruth weiss at the Cinequest Film Festival accepting the Maverick Spirit Award. Women's Day March 8th, 2020. This was her last and most spectacular performances.
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Known for her sparse poignant writing, ruth weiss won the 2020 Cinequest Maverick Spirit Award for her innovations in literature and the arts. She is the subject of a film called ruth weiss, the beat goddess by filmmaker Melody C. Miller and had a close connection with the director while making the film. The film premiered at the Asolo Art Film Festival in Italy, won Best Documentary at the Peekskill Film Festival, won Visionary Women In Film Award at the Santa Cruz Film Festival, and is nominated for Best Documentary at 10 other film festivals nationwide. Due to Covid-19 some screenings have been postponed. They are also working on a pop-up museum exhibit in tribute to ruth weiss. |
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ruth weiss is also well-known for her long-time environmental activism, often writing about the plight of whales and redwood trees, issues concerning the deep ecology of our planet and her California coastal regions. ruth loved spending time with friends, reading her poems at gatherings, walking in the redwood forest, and always loved to write. ruth weiss, 92, passed of natural causes on July 31, 2020 in Albion, California. |
ruth weiss hugs a tree in the redwood forest and listens to the ocean in a seashell. Image from "ruth weiss, the beat goddess" documentary.
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ruth weiss sitting with a big smile on her face at her home in Albion, CA. Photographed by her friend, director, Melody Miller.
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"There is no such thing as an end. I believe in the spiral that keeps on going." - ruth weiss, the beat goddess. |