Estelle Kurzen, the sister of my friend Aaron Kurzen, died shortly after her brother in 2021. Aaron lived to 103 and Estelle three years younger. While Aaron was well known in is circle of friends and students as an artist and art teacher, Estelle was little known and had no circle of friends. She gifted me a book of her poems in the early 2000s. Quirky, strange, reclusive is what many thought of her. Her brother knew differently. She was bright, talented and mysterious in her ways. She played violin, wrote poetry and art criticism. She lived alone all of her adult her life in Hollywood, California.
I helped move Estelle from California back to Connecticut after she suffered a nervous breakdown. She lived out her life in Brandford, CT not far from Aaron’s hand-built home in Stoney creek, CT on a piece of property called Zen Acre. During one visit to Zen Acre, I asked her to recite some of her poems to me. She proceeded to recite from memory poems from her distant past: leaving me scrambling to start my recorder.
I don’t know why, but I took a deep liking to Estelle. Although she could be quite cynical, she had a sensitive, humorous touch that drew me to her. At first, I hesitated to set her poems to visual cues, but she seemed to enjoy this contrivance and said it added life to her spoken words.
I think that her genius died with her and that no legacy follows her life and work. Except perhaps in my memory and a few others who had the privilege to meet her. So here it is. I share a bit of her legacy with you.