Beck, Patricia, 1924-1978

Author, Poet. Patricia (Pat) Beck was born in New York City, 1924. Her family lived in Europe in the 1930's, then in New York and New Jersey. She attended Bennington College (VT), 1943-46, where her advisor was poet Theodore Roethke, and she studied writing under W.H. Auden and Allan Seager, as well as art and psychology. After her mother's death in 1946 she suffered from severe depression and spent a short time in a psychiatric unit where she underwent shock therapy. Beck continued to suffer from depression periodically throughout her life. In 1952 she married Thomas Maulding, a blind pianist and they resided in Bennington, VT. They were divorced in 1959. She resumed school at Bennington in the early 1960's and studied writing under Bernard Malamud. She eventually published two short stories, and a volume of her stories was published posthumously. In 1976 her leg was amputated due to complications from diabetes, and a year later she lost her other leg. She continued writing and painting until 1978 when she committed suicide by an insulin overdose.

Patricia Beck was born on April 8, 1924, in "Hell's Kitchen," New York, New York, to Margaret and Fred "Whitey" Beck. Her father, a bookmaker on racing grounds, died in July of 1926 when Pat was two years old. Pat was the third of four children, though an older sister Peggy died at the age of one. Her older sister Vera was in the army and later became a lawyer. Her younger brother Fred was a musician.

In the early 1930s the Beck family lived in Great Neck, Long Island, and, in 1933, Pat's mother married Paul Swiderski, a boxer, who Pat called "Pops." From 1934 to 1938 Pat's family spent much of the time living in various locations in Europe, including Spain, England, and France. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the family decided to return to the United States and take up residence again in Great Neck, Long Island, and then Asbury Park, New Jersey. Beck worked at the Allenhurst (New Jersey) Beach Club as a lifeguard and swimming instructor and graduated from Asbury Park High School in 1943. In the fall of 1943 she began attending Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont, where she studied writing, art, and psychology. From her sophomore year until his departure from the college, Beck's academic counselor was poet Theodore Roethke. She also studied with W. H. Auden and Allan Seager.

In the middle of Beck's first year at Bennington College, her mother died from cancer, two weeks before her divorce from Paul Swiderski would have become final. The death affected Beck greatly and depression forced her to leave school in 1946. From July to August, she resided in the psychiatric unit at Albany Hospital in Albany, New York, and underwent shock therapy for her depression. After her release she spent some time in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, and then went to live in Bennington again.

Pages from Patricia Beck's diary, 6-7 May, 1949

On June 28, 1952, Beck married Thomas Maulding, a blind pianist and entertainer. She moved to New York City to live with him but she and Tom often traveled back to Vermont to visit friends. In 1954 Beck and Maulding purchased a home on Pleasant Street in North Bennington, Vermont, which they named "Birdland." Pat and Tom did not have any children but by 1956 Beck became more insistent that they try to conceive. In September of 1958 she discovered that she was pregnant but she miscarried due to Tom's forcing her to have intercourse though her doctor had advised against it. Tom soon left and did not return to live in the home until December of that year. He eventually moved out in 1959 and Beck asked for a divorce in August 1959.

Beck remained at Birdland after the divorce and eventually resumed her studies at Bennington College in the early 1960s, studying writing with Bernard Malamud. She continued her writing and painting and eventually two of her short stories, "A Promise in the Wind" and "Come Down to the Willow," were published in the magazine Yankee in 1970. These were the only items that would be published during her lifetime. A volume of short stories entitled, A Gift of Kindling and Other Stories, was compiled and published posthumously by a group of her friends.

In 1974 Beck's brother Fred passed away suddenly. He was buried on Beck's property at Birdland. In 1976 Pat's right leg was amputated because of complications from diabetes, with which she had lived for much of her life. After the amputation she was dependent on crutches and a wheelchair in her regular activities but still swam to remain active.

In 1977 Pat's other leg was amputated, also due to complications from diabetes. On March 2, 1978 Pat Beck committed suicide by an insulin overdose. Her ashes are buried at Birdland near her brother Fred's grave.