A Voice at the Borders of Silence An Intimate View of the Gurdjieff Work, Zen Buddhism & Art

A Voice at the Borders of Silence is the story of a life of passion lived at the forefront of intersecting avant-garde movements and spent in the unyielding pursuit of the ultimate self-understanding and awareness. In a lifetime that nearly coincided with the 20th century, William Segal left a legacy of insight, compassion, and intelligence-as a businessman and publisher, an artist, and as a seeker.

Segal was a disciple and interpreter of some of the most influential spiritual masters of the twentieth century; and above all, G. I. Gurdjieff, whose writings on self-realization formed the basis of his philosophy. This foundation in spiritual training enabled him to survive a near-fatal car crash and then to make a full recovery and renew his life's work with even greater vigor.

The many dimensions of Segal's life are explored through his own writings and art, and through interviews with those whose lives he influenced. With dozens of full-color reproductions of Segal's paintings and contributions by Ken Burns (who made Segal the subject of three documentaries), Robert Thurman, and Peter Brook, is an unforgettable memoir that will serve as a guidebook for anyone pursuing his or her own search for self-realization and understanding.

William Segal (1904-2000) was born in Macon, Georgia. After attending NYU on an athletic scholarship, he worked in magazine publishing, and soon started a series of publications that included Gentry and American Textiles, and in that capacity met such notables as D. T. Suzuki, P. D. Ouspensky, and G.I. Gurdjieff. An acclaimed painter, he had several gallery exhibitions, including a 1999 retrospective at the Tibet House in New York City. He died in 2000 at the age of ninety-six.