Suze Rotolo
Encyclopedia
Susan Elizabeth Rotolo known as Suze Rotolo , was an American
artist
, but is perhaps best known as Bob Dylan
's girlfriend between 1961 and 1964 and a strong influence on his music. She is the woman walking with him on the cover of his album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
, a ground-breaking street image by the CBS studio photographer, Don Hunstein. In her book, A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties, Rotolo described her time with Dylan and other figures in the folk music and bohemian
scene in Greenwich Village
, New York. She also discussed her upbringing as a "red diaper" baby—a child of radicals during the McCarthy Era. As an artist, Rotolo specialized in artists' books and taught at the Parsons School of Design in New York City
.
. Her parents were Joachim Rotolo and Mary Pezzati Rotolo
, who were members of the American Communist Party
. In July 1961, she graduated from Bryant High School
.
At about the time she met Dylan, Rotolo began working full time as a political activist in the office of the Congress of Racial Equality
(CORE), and the anti-nuclear group SANE
. She and her sister Carla
had also entered the Greenwich Village folk scene. Rotolo first met Dylan at a Riverside Church
folk concert in July 1961. They were introduced by Carla, who at that time was working as an assistant to folklorist Alan Lomax
. Describing their meeting in his memoir, Chronicles, Volume One, Dylan wrote: "Right from the start I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was the most erotic thing I’d ever seen. She was fair skinned and golden haired, full-blood Italian. The air was suddenly filled with banana leaves. We started talking and my head started to spin. Cupid’s arrow had whistled past my ears before, but this time it hit me in the heart and the weight of it dragged me overboard... Meeting her was like stepping into the tales of 1001 Arabian Nights. She had a smile that could light up a street full of people and was extremely lively, had a kind of voluptuousness – a Rodin
sculpture come to life".
It was not until they met that Dylan's writing began to address issues such as the civil rights movement and the threat of nuclear war. They started living together in early 1962, much to the disapproval of her family. As Dylan's fame grew, Rotolo found the relationship increasingly stressful. She wrote: "Bob was charismatic: he was a beacon, a lighthouse, he was also a black hole. He required committed backup and protection I was unable to provide consistently, probably because I needed them myself". "I could no longer cope with all the pressure, gossip, truth and lies that living with Bob entailed. I was unable to find solid ground. I was on quicksand and very vulnerable".
Rotolo left New York in June 1962, with her mother, to spend six months studying art at the University of Perugia
in Italy
. She was known there as Justine Rotolo, having used an invented middle name to register as "S. Justine Rotolo". Dylan's separation from his girlfriend has been credited as the inspiration behind several of his finest love songs, including "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright", "Tomorrow Is a Long Time
", "One Too Many Mornings
", and "Boots of Spanish Leather
"
Rotolo's political views were widely regarded as having influenced Dylan's topical songwriting. Dylan also credited her with interesting him in the French poet, Arthur Rimbaud
, who heavily influenced his writing style. The influence of Bertolt Brecht
on Dylan's songwriting has also been acknowledged by Dylan as stemming from Rotolo's participation in Brechtian theater during their relationship. In Chronicles, Dylan describes the impact of the song "Pirate Jenny
" while attending a Brecht show on which Rotolo worked. Dylan's interest in painting can also be traced back to his relationship with Rotolo.
Rotolo emphasised her shared values with Dylan in an interview with author Robbie Woliver: "People say I was an influence on him, but we influenced each other. His interests were filtered through me and my interests, like the books I had, were filtered through him... It was always sincere on his part. The guy saw things. He had an incredible ability to see and sponge—there was a genius in that. The ability to create out of everything that's flying around. To synthesize it. To put it in words and music."
According to her autobiography, Rotolo became pregnant in 1963 by Dylan and had an abortion
. Their relationship failed to survive the abortion, Dylan's affair with Joan Baez
and the hostility of the Rotolo family. Suze moved out into her sister's apartment in August 1963. They finally broke up in 1964, in circumstances which Dylan described in his "Ballad in Plain D
". Twenty years later, he apologised for the song, saying: "I must have been a real schmuck to write that. I look back at that particular one and say, of all the songs I've written, maybe I could have left that alone."
in June 1964, with a group, at a time when it was unlawful for Americans
to do so. She was quoted as saying, in regard 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."
Rotolo married Italian
Enzo Bartoccioli, a film editor who works for the United Nations
, in 1967. Together they had one son, Luca, who is a guitarist in New York. In New York, Rotolo worked as an illustrator and painter, before concentrating on creating book art, making book-like objects which incorporated found art
. Remaining politically active, Rotolo joined the street-theater group Billionaires for Bush
and protested at the 2004 Republican National Convention
in Manhattan.
Rotolo evaded discussion of her relationship with Dylan for decades. In July 2004, she was interviewed in a documentary produced by New York PBS Channel 13 and The New York Daily News; 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. She was also interviewed nationally in 2008 by Terry Gross
on NPR
's Fresh Air
to promote her book, A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties.
Rotolo's book was published by Broadway Books
on 13 May 2008. Rotolo recounted her attempts not to be overshadowed by her relationship with Dylan. She discussed her need to pursue her artistic creativity and to retain her political integrity, concluding: "The sixties were an era that spoke a language of inquiry and curiosity and rebelliousness against the stifling and repressive political and social culture of the decade that preceded it. The new generation causing all the fuss was not driven by the market: we had something to say, not something to sell."
at her home in New York City's NoHo
district on 25 February 2011, aged 67.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, but is perhaps best known as Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's girlfriend between 1961 and 1964 and a strong influence on his music. She is the woman walking with him on the cover of his album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released in May 1963 by Columbia Records. Whereas his debut album Bob Dylan had contained only two original songs, Freewheelin initiated the process of writing contemporary words to traditional melodies....
, a ground-breaking street image by the CBS studio photographer, Don Hunstein. In her book, A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties, Rotolo described her time with Dylan and other figures in the folk music and bohemian
Bohemian style
In modern usage, the term "Bohemian" is applied to people who live unconventional, usually artistic, lives. The adherents of the "Bloomsbury Group", which formed around the Stephen sisters, Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf in the early 20th century, are among the best-known examples...
scene in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
, New York. She also discussed her upbringing as a "red diaper" baby—a child of radicals during the McCarthy Era. As an artist, Rotolo specialized in artists' books and taught at the Parsons School of Design in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
The Freewheelin' years, 1961–1964
Rotolo, of Italian-American descent, was born in the Brooklyn Jewish Hospital, New York and raised in Sunnyside, QueensSunnyside, Queens
Sunnyside is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens, in New York state, in the United States. It shares borders with Hunters Point and Long Island City to the west, Astoria to the north, Woodside to the east and Maspeth to the south...
. Her parents were Joachim Rotolo and Mary Pezzati Rotolo
Mary Rotolo
Mary Teresa Pezzati Rotolo Bowes was an American writer and political activist. Her daughters are Suze and Carla Rotolo. Suze Rotolo was one of Bob Dylan's early girlfriends in New York City.- Early life :...
, who were members of the American Communist Party
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
. In July 1961, she graduated from Bryant High School
William Cullen Bryant High School
William Cullen Bryant High School, or William C. Bryant High School, and Bryant High School for short, is a secondary school located in Queens, New York City, New York, United States serving grades 9 through 12.-Name:...
.
At about the time she met Dylan, Rotolo began working full time as a political activist in the office of the Congress of Racial Equality
Congress of Racial Equality
The Congress of Racial Equality or CORE was a U.S. civil rights organization that originally played a pivotal role for African-Americans in the Civil Rights Movement...
(CORE), and the anti-nuclear group SANE
Peace Action
Peace Action is a peace organization formed through the merger of The Committee for a SANE Nuclear Policy and the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign...
. She and her sister Carla
Carla Rotolo
Carla Rotolo is the older sister of Suze Rotolo, one of Bob Dylan's early girlfriends in New York City.Carla was the first child of Joachim Rotolo and Mary Pezzati Rotolo who were union activists...
had also entered the Greenwich Village folk scene. Rotolo first met Dylan at a Riverside Church
Riverside Church
The Riverside Church in the City of New York is an interdenominational church in New York City, famous for its elaborate Neo-Gothic architecture—which includes the world's largest tuned carillon bell...
folk concert in July 1961. They were introduced by Carla, who at that time was working as an assistant to folklorist Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax
Alan Lomax was an American folklorist and ethnomusicologist. He was one of the great field collectors of folk music of the 20th century, recording thousands of songs in the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, the Caribbean, Italy, and Spain.In his later career, Lomax advanced his theories of...
. Describing their meeting in his memoir, Chronicles, Volume One, Dylan wrote: "Right from the start I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was the most erotic thing I’d ever seen. She was fair skinned and golden haired, full-blood Italian. The air was suddenly filled with banana leaves. We started talking and my head started to spin. Cupid’s arrow had whistled past my ears before, but this time it hit me in the heart and the weight of it dragged me overboard... Meeting her was like stepping into the tales of 1001 Arabian Nights. She had a smile that could light up a street full of people and was extremely lively, had a kind of voluptuousness – a Rodin
Auguste Rodin
François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
sculpture come to life".
It was not until they met that Dylan's writing began to address issues such as the civil rights movement and the threat of nuclear war. They started living together in early 1962, much to the disapproval of her family. As Dylan's fame grew, Rotolo found the relationship increasingly stressful. She wrote: "Bob was charismatic: he was a beacon, a lighthouse, he was also a black hole. He required committed backup and protection I was unable to provide consistently, probably because I needed them myself". "I could no longer cope with all the pressure, gossip, truth and lies that living with Bob entailed. I was unable to find solid ground. I was on quicksand and very vulnerable".
Rotolo left New York in June 1962, with her mother, to spend six months studying art at the University of Perugia
University of Perugia
University of Perugia is a public-owned university based in Perugia, Italy. It was founded in 1308, as attested by the Bull issued by Pope Clement V certifying the birth of the Studium Generale....
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. She was known there as Justine Rotolo, having used an invented middle name to register as "S. Justine Rotolo". Dylan's separation from his girlfriend has been credited as the inspiration behind several of his finest love songs, including "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright", "Tomorrow Is a Long Time
Tomorrow Is a Long Time
"Tomorrow Is a Long Time" is a song written and recorded by Bob Dylan. Dylan's version first appeared on the Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume II compilation, released in 1971...
", "One Too Many Mornings
One Too Many Mornings
"One Too Many Mornings" is a song by Bob Dylan, released on his third studio album The Times They Are a-Changin in 1964. The chords and vocal melody are in some places very similar to the song "The Times They Are A-Changin'". "One Too Many Mornings" is in the key of C Major and is fingerpicked...
", and "Boots of Spanish Leather
Boots of Spanish Leather
"Boots of Spanish Leather" is a song performed by Bob Dylan, released in 1964 on his album The Times They Are A-Changin.Dylan's recording features the artist solo on the acoustic guitar, playing the song fingerpicking....
"
Rotolo's political views were widely regarded as having influenced Dylan's topical songwriting. Dylan also credited her with interesting him in the French poet, Arthur Rimbaud
Arthur Rimbaud
Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud was a French poet. Born in Charleville, Ardennes, he produced his best known works while still in his late teens—Victor Hugo described him at the time as "an infant Shakespeare"—and he gave up creative writing altogether before the age of 21. As part of the decadent...
, who heavily influenced his writing style. The influence of Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
on Dylan's songwriting has also been acknowledged by Dylan as stemming from Rotolo's participation in Brechtian theater during their relationship. In Chronicles, Dylan describes the impact of the song "Pirate Jenny
Pirate Jenny
"Pirate Jenny" is a well-known song from The Threepenny Opera by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht. The English lyrics are by Marc Blitzstein...
" while attending a Brecht show on which Rotolo worked. Dylan's interest in painting can also be traced back to his relationship with Rotolo.
Rotolo emphasised her shared values with Dylan in an interview with author Robbie Woliver: "People say I was an influence on him, but we influenced each other. His interests were filtered through me and my interests, like the books I had, were filtered through him... It was always sincere on his part. The guy saw things. He had an incredible ability to see and sponge—there was a genius in that. The ability to create out of everything that's flying around. To synthesize it. To put it in words and music."
According to her autobiography, Rotolo became pregnant in 1963 by Dylan and had an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
. Their relationship failed to survive the abortion, Dylan's affair with Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
and the hostility of the Rotolo family. Suze moved out into her sister's apartment in August 1963. They finally broke up in 1964, in circumstances which Dylan described in his "Ballad in Plain D
Ballad in Plain D
Ballad in Plain D is the tenth track of Bob Dylan's fourth album, Another Side of Bob Dylan, and—at eight minutes, eighteen seconds—the longest song on the album. The song recounts the circumstances surrounding the disintegration of Dylan's relationship with Suze Rotolo. Dylan details the conflicts...
". Twenty years later, he apologised for the song, saying: "I must have been a real schmuck to write that. I look back at that particular one and say, of all the songs I've written, maybe I could have left that alone."
Later life, 1964–2011
Rotolo traveled to CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
in June 1964, with a group, at a time when it was unlawful for Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to do so. She was quoted as saying, in regard to opponents of Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
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."
Rotolo married Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Enzo Bartoccioli, a film editor who works for the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, in 1967. Together they had one son, Luca, who is a guitarist in New York. In New York, Rotolo worked as an illustrator and painter, before concentrating on creating book art, making book-like objects which incorporated found art
Found art
The term found art—more commonly found object or readymade—describes art created from undisguised, but often modified, objects that are not normally considered art, often because they already have a non-art function...
. Remaining politically active, Rotolo joined the street-theater group Billionaires for Bush
Billionaires for Bush
Billionaires for Bush is a culture jamming political street theater organization that satirically purports to support George W. Bush for those activities which are perceived to benefit corporations and the super-wealthy...
and protested at the 2004 Republican National Convention
2004 Republican National Convention
The 2004 Republican National Convention, the presidential nominating convention of the Republican Party of the United States, took place from August 30 to September 2, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York...
in Manhattan.
Rotolo evaded discussion of her relationship with Dylan for decades. In July 2004, she was interviewed in a documentary produced by New York PBS Channel 13 and The New York Daily News; in November 2004, she made an unannounced appearance at the Experience Music Project
Experience Music Project
The EMP Museum is a museum dedicated to the history and exploration of both popular music and science fiction located in Seattle, Washington...
, on a panel discussing Dylan's early days in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
. She and her husband also were involved in putting on a memorial event for Dave van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk
Dave Van Ronk was an American folk singer, born in Brooklyn, New York, who settled in Greenwich Village, New York, and was eventually nicknamed the "Mayor of MacDougal Street" ....
after the singer's death in 2002.
Rotolo appears in Martin Scorsese's
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
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. She was also interviewed nationally in 2008 by Terry Gross
Terry Gross
Terry Gross is the host and co-executive producer of Fresh Air, an interview format radio show produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia and distributed throughout the United States by National Public Radio....
on NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's Fresh Air
Fresh Air
Fresh Air is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States. The show is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its longtime host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to 450 stations and claimed 4.5 million listeners. The show...
to promote her book, A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties.
Rotolo's book was published by Broadway Books
Broadway Books
Broadway Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a Division of Random House, Inc., released its first list in Fall, 1996. Broadway Books has since published many New York Times bestsellers in hardcover and paperback, including Elizabeth Edwards’ memoir Resilience, Bill O’Reilly’s memoir A...
on 13 May 2008. Rotolo recounted her attempts not to be overshadowed by her relationship with Dylan. She discussed her need to pursue her artistic creativity and to retain her political integrity, concluding: "The sixties were an era that spoke a language of inquiry and curiosity and rebelliousness against the stifling and repressive political and social culture of the decade that preceded it. The new generation causing all the fuss was not driven by the market: we had something to say, not something to sell."
Death
Rotolo died of lung cancerLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
at her home in New York City's NoHo
NoHo
NoHo, for North of Houston Street is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, roughly bounded by Houston Street on the south, The Bowery on the east, Astor Place on the north, and Broadway on the west. NoHo is wedged between Greenwich Village, west of Broadway, and the East Village...
district on 25 February 2011, aged 67.