The second volume of Jonas Mekas’s autobiography I Seem to Live. The New York Diaries, 1969–2011 continues with the meticulous description of his dense life in New York’s underground art scene. It begins with the seventies, a time when the Chelsea Hotel was a central hub of creativity and a temporary home for the filmmaker and critic. In 1970, Mekas cofounded Anthology Film Archives with Jerome Hill, P. Adams Sitney, Peter Kubelka, and Stan Brakhage. Later, he bought the Courthouse building at 32 Second Avenue where Anthology remains today. Jonas Mekas finished editing his autobiography’s last volume when he was over ninety years old. Published posthumously, I Seem to Live. The New York Diaries, 1950–2011 stands on an equal footing with his cinematic oeuvre. The second and concluding volume of his diaries, contains an extensive index of names
Jonas Mekas (1922–2019) was born in Lithuania and arrived in New York in 1949 via post-war DP camps in Germany. Co-founder of the Anthology Film Archives, Mekas was a filmmaker, writer, and poet, as well as a tireless advocate for experimental art and a New York City legend.
