Hosted by the Yale Collection of American Literature at Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library and the English Department’s 20/21 Colloquium/

 

Via Zoom; please register at http://tinyurl.com/YalePoetryArchiveKoestenbaum

 

The poet, critic, novelist, artist and performer, Wayne Koestenbaum will reflect on preparing his literary archive for the Beinecke and its impact on his creative practice.

 

He will be in conversation with Timothy Young, Curator of Modern Books and Manuscripts at the Beinecke.

 

Wayne Koestenbaum has published nineteen books, including Camp Marmalade, My 1980s & Other Essays, Hotel Theory, Andy Warhol, Humiliation, and Jackie Under My Skin. The Queen’s Throat, praised by Susan Sontag as “a brilliant book,” was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. His novel, Circus, was reissued in July 2019 with an introduction by Rachel Kushner. He has recently published a collection of short fiction, The Cheerful Scapegoat, and an essay collection, Figure It Out. He won a Whiting Writers Award, and was a co-winner of the Discovery/The Nation Poetry Prize.

 

He has exhibited his paintings at White Columns, 356 Mission, and the University of Kentucky Art Museum, and written librettos, including Jackie O, which premiered at the Houston Grand Opera. He has given musical performances of his improvisatory Sprechstimme soliloquies at The Kitchen, REDCAT, Centre Pompidou, Walker Art Center, The Artist’s Institute, and the Renaissance Society.

 

He is a Professor of English, French and Comparative Literature at the CUNY Graduate Center.