Kate Bredeson reads from her new books, The Diaries of Judith Malina, volumes 1-4 (Northwestern 2026), an edited collection of radical Jewish anarchist and stage director Judith Malina’s diaries. In these diaries, which span 1947-1971, Malina charts her vision for theatre as a tool to provoke what she calls the Beautiful Nonviolent Anarchist Revolution. A committed anarchist and pacifist, Malina made theater as a way to engage in revolutionary action. Her diaries showcase her political and social observations, her cultural commentary, her self-reflection, and her wit. This four-volume set invites us to recognize Malina for her accomplishments not only as an artist and an activist but as one of the great literary diarists.

Kate Bredeson is a theatre historian, translator, dramaturg, and director. Her project as a scholar/artist is to research, document, and practice the ways in which performance can be a tool for radical activism and protest. Her books are published by Northwestern University Press: Occupying the Stage: The Theater of May '68 (2018; finalist, TLA George Freedley Award); The Inheritor: A Play (translator, 2024); The Diaries of Judith Malina, volumes 1-4 (general editor 1-4, editor 2 and 4, 2026; winner, ADE Lyman H. Butterfield Award), and Lamp Back: Plays and Other Grievances by Anthony Hudson (editor, 2026).