Jane Heap

Gurdjieff International Review

Jane Heap

1887–1964

Even before she met Gurdjieff, who was to become her mentor and lifelong inspiration, Jane Heap was already a legendary thinker and raconteur in her own right. In 1916 she became co-editor of the legendary literary journal, The Little Review. Jane Heap first heard about Gurdjieff through A. R. Orage. After meeting Gurdjieff himself during his 1924 visit to New York, Heap started a Gurdjieff study group in her Greenwich Village apartment and later departed for Paris where she studied with Gurdjieff until his death in 1949.

Jane Heap (1887–1964)

A bio-sketch and selection of Heap's aphorisms by Rob Baker published here first. Outlines Heaps' life-long literary influence and forty years devoted to presenting Gurdjieff's teaching to groups in London & Paris from 1924; then at Gurdjieff's wish, in London from 1935 until her death.

No Harem: Gurdjieff and the Women of The Rope

Rob Baker sketches a group of strong-willed women, mostly writers who also happened to be lesbians, that Gurdjieff worked with from 1936—including Solita Solano, Kathryn Hulme, Margaret Anderson, Jane Heap, and Georgette Leblanc. First published here, Baker draws on the extensive research he is conducting for a forthcoming book on The Rope.

Jane Heap: As Remembered by Some of Those She Taught

A. L. Staveley recalls vivid impressions of her work with Jane Heap in London during World War II which prepared her to meet Gurdjieff in 1946. This sketch was first published in Jane Heap 1887–1964: As remembered by some of those she taught by Two Rivers Press, 1988 in a limited edition and is reproduced here with their kind permission.

Attention Is Our Only Weapon

“Collection of our energy means the collecting of our attention—nothing else that we can collect at all. Key to all our work.”