Susan Elizabeth Rotolo (born November 20, 1943)[1], nicknamed Suze Rotolo (pronounced Soo-zee),[2] is an American artist, perhaps best known as the woman walking with Bob Dylan on the cover of his album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.[3] The pair dated on-and-off during the early 1960s. She now specializes in artist's books and teaches at the Parsons School of Design in New York City.[4]
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Biography
Rotolo was born and raised in Queens, New York. Her parents were Joachim Rotolo and Mary Pezzati Rotolo who were friends of the Soviet spy Charles Flato.[5] Her older sister is Carla Rotolo, who also knew Dylan in the 1960s.
When Suze Rotolo left New York on June 8, 1962 with her mother to study at the University of Perugia in Italy, the separation from his girlfriend inspired Dylan to write two of his love songs: "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" and "Tomorrow is a Long Time".[citation needed]
Her uncle was the American portrait painter Pietro Pezzati[6] whom she claims was a believer in Benito Mussolini and fascism.[7]
Her political views are widely regarded as having triggered Dylan's topical songwriting. The influence of Bertolt Brecht on Dylan's songwriting and performing has been acknowledged by Dylan as stemming from her participation in Brechtian theater during their relationship. Dylan's interest in painting can also be traced back to his relationship with Rotolo. According to her autobiography, Rotolo became pregnant in 1963 by Dylan and had an abortion.[8]
Rotolo has been associated with civil rights work and protests against the travel ban against Cuba. She worked for a time for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).[9] She traveled to Cuba in June of 1964, with a group, at a time when it was unlawful for Americans to do so.[10]. She is quoted as saying, in regards to opponents of Fidel Castro that, "These gusanos [worms] are not suppressed. There can be open criticism of the regime. As long as they keep it to talk they are tolerated, as long as there is no sabotage."[11]
She married Italian Enzo Bartoccioli, a film editor who works for the United Nations, in 1972.[12] They have one son, Luca, who is a guitarist in New York.[13]
In July 2004 a documentary produced by New York PBS Channel 13 and The New York Daily News was released in which Suze was interviewed. Then in November 2004, she made an unannounced appearance at the Experience Music Project, on a panel discussing Dylan's early days in Greenwich Village. She and her husband also were involved in putting on a memorial event for Dave van Ronk after the singer's death in 2002.
Rotolo appears in Martin Scorsese's film No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, a documentary focusing on Dylan's early career from 1961 to 1966. It played on the American Masters series on U.S. public television in September 2005.[14]
In 2006, the author of The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia, Michael Gray, commented, "It’s my book and not hers, she’ll have to be content to disagree," in response to a scathing letter of criticism from Suze complaining about her entry in his book. Gray further commented that, "it was a blow to me that someone I’ve always regarded highly was so dismissive - so haughty - about the whole entry and by extension my entire endeavour, and on such small grounds. She lumps me in with “sellers of forged letters [who] ignore me”, which is patently unjust."[15]
Rotolo's book, A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties, was published by Broadway Books on May 13, 2008.[8] In it she describes her time with Dylan and the folk music scene in Greenwich Village. She also discusses her upbringing as a "red diaper" baby—a child of communists during the McCarthy Era.
References
- ^ The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia, Suze Rotolo article, Michael Gray, Continuum International Publishing Group
- ^ Howard Sounes, Down the Highway The Life Of Bob Dylan Doubleday 2001 ISBN 0-552-99929-6 P123
- ^ Suze Rotolo Trivia at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Suze Rotolo Biography at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia, Suze Rotolo article, Michael Gray, Continuum International Publishing Group
- ^ The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia, Suze Rotolo article, Michael Gray, Continuum International Publishing Group
- ^ A Freewheelin' Time, Suze Rotolo, Random House, 2008
- ^ a b Rotolo, Suze (2008). A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0767926870.
- ^ Suze Rotolo Trivia at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ The New York Times, July 1, 1964.
- ^ The New York Times, July 1, 1964 and August 19, 1964 issues.
- ^ Suze Rotolo Spouse at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia, Suze Rotolo article, Michael Gray, Continuum International Publishing Group
- ^ Internet Movie Database
- ^ Leaving Planet Kooper, Michael Gray, December 3, 2006
Further reading
- Rotolo, Suze (2008). A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties. New York: Broadway Books. ISBN 0767926870.
- Hoot! A 25-Year History of the Greenwich Village Music Scene, Robbie Woliver, New York, NY, 1986.
- Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades, A Biography, Clinton Heylin, Summit Books, New York, 1991.
- Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan, Howard Sounes, Grove Press, 2002.
- Chronicles Volume One, Bob Dylan, Simon & Schuster 2004.
External links
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