I Seem to Live

Jonas Mekas shot his first experimental films with his brother in New York starting in 1950. He developed a form of diary film in which he captured his everyday observations. In 1954, the brothers founded the magazine Film Culture, and from 1958 onwards, Mekas published weekly in the Village Voice. He conducted conversations with Andy Warhol, Susan Sontag, and many others. Through his writing, filmmaking, and tireless commitment, he became a seismograph of the New York art scene and a visionary of American avant-garde cinema. In his diaries, enriched with personal imagery, he provides insight into the life of an author and filmmaker who established and documented the underground scene in New York. His diaries I Had Nowhere to Go (1944-1955) were published by Spector Books in 2017. I Seem to Live is the continuation of this work and will be released in two volumes: Volume I (1950-1971) and Volume II (1972-2004).