With Gurdjieff in St. Petersburg and Paris

by Anna; Cosh Butkovsky-Hewitt

Book by Hewitt, Anna Butkovsky

166 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Fred Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this memoir written late in life, Butkovsky recalls her early life with Ouspensky and Gurdjieff. She gives a perspective on the young Ouspensky not found elsewhere (certainly not in O's own works). Her portrait of G. is sympathetic and admiring but does not add a great deal to other accounts, aside from a few personal experiences. As a concert pianist, her reminiscences of working with Thomas de Hartmann and of the dances in Paris provide some good insights into the role of music in the Work. The book is most interesting as an account of life in Petersburg during the first world war and the early days of the revolution, including a meeting with Trotsky and an appendix covering B's meetings with Rasputin.