Review of 'Alexander's Way' by Alexander Murray

Publisher’s note
Using F.M. Alexander's own words and the remembrances of those who knew him best, Alexander's Way retraces Alexander's steps: from his earliest days as an actor and teacher of elocution and the Delsarte Method in 1890s Australia to the development of his own teaching and unique hands-on ability in London in the years before World War I. We follow the maturation of his method, observe his travels to the United States and the influential support of John Dewey, and witness - through the eyes of Marjory Barlow, Walter Carrington, Aldous Huxley, Margaret Naumburg, Irene Tasker, and many others - Alexander's remarkable skill in his final decades. An invitation to more deeply explore F. M. Alexander's fascinating history, Alexander's Way is a rich resource for all serious students of the Alexander Technique. Bibliography and index included.

Excerpt from the Preface
The purpose of the original booklet, F.M. Alexander: In His Own Words, and in the Words of Those Who Knew Him, was to distill the process through which Alexander developed his technique. It is possible to retrace his steps, using his detailed instructions at various stages of his progress.

Note from Novis Press (eBook)
Alexander's Way is a compilation of data ordered chronologically so as to afford leisurely access to a wide range of material associated with F.M. Alexander's voyage of discovery and his technique's stages of development from 1894 to the end of his life in 1955. Alex Murray's exposition rests on scrupulously selected quotations from many sources: extensive quotes from F.M. Alexander's writings; pupils' diaries, which provide vivid descriptions of their lessons with F.M. Alexander; and quotes from various writings by contemporary thinkers and medical men who benefitted from their lessons and who have written extensively on the restorative potential inherent in F.M. Alexander's re-educational technique. Many references are also made to first-generation teachers who trained directly with F.M. Alexander.

eBook Author Biography
Alexander D. Murray’s experience of the Alexander Technique began in 1955 with Charles Neil and continued after Neil’s death, in 1958, with Walter Carrington. With his wife Joan, Alex spent nine years working with Walter Carrington, who was F.M. Alexander’s principal assistant at the time of his death in 1955. The Murrays worked with many other first-generation teachers, including Marjorie Barstow, Frank and Helen Jones, Patrick Macdonald, John Skinner, Peter Scott, Tony Spawforth, Richard and Elizabeth Walker, Lulie Westfeldt, Kitty Wielopolska, and Peggy Williams.

Alex and Joan met Professor Raymond Dart in 1967. He cooperated in and inspired their ongoing investigation into human developmental movement as it relates to the Alexander Technique. They developed the Dart Procedures, an innovative process that influences Alexander Technique teaching throughout the world. Since 1977, the Murrays have been the co-directors and principal teachers at the Alexander Technique Center Urbana.

Alex was principal flute with the Covent Garden Opera and the London Symphony Orchestra and is the inventor of the Murray Flute. He has taught at the Royal College, Royal Academy, and Royal Northern College in England; the Royal Dutch Conservatory; Michigan State University; and the National Music Camp at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. From 1977 until his retirement in 2002, he was professor of flute at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. He is the recipient of the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Flute Association.

Alexander's Way is available from:
Novis Press (eBook)
Constructive Teaching Centre (paperback)
Manchester Alexander Technique Training School (Free PDF)

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