French novelist and playwright Jean Genet came twice to the United States: the first time, illegally, in 1968, to attend the Democratic convention in Chicago; the second time two years later, for campus lectures accompanied by his new-found friends, the Black Panthers.
Fri., Nov. 12, 2:30 - 4 p.m.
Talks: Playwright and director JoAnn Akalaitis on her production of The Balcony; Professor of performance studies (NYU Tisch) Richard Schechner on his productions of The Balcony and The Maids
4:30 - 6 p.m.
Roundtable: The Blacks in 1961, with novelist and Genet biographer Edmund White, producer and director Christopher McElroen, theatre director André Gregory, Professor of French (NYU) Tom Bishop, and director Marianne de Pury
7:30 - 9 p.m.
Talks: Ralph Heyndels, Les Noirs sur la blancheur livide: ou le sens possible de l'Amérique; and Véronique Lane, Jean Genet et la Beat Generation. In French.
Sat., Nov. 13, 2:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Talk: Albert Dichy (IMEC Archive), Notes inédites de Genet sur l'Amérique: Lecture commentée. In French.
3:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Roundtable: 1970: Genet and the Panthers, with Professor of French (CUNY) Tom Spear, NYU's Tom Bishop, Marianne de Pury, and Professor (SUNY Stony Brook) Robert Harvey.
The conference is made possible by the generous support of the Florence Gould Foundation. Reporters interested in attending must RSVP to Tim Farrell, NYU Office of Public Affairs, by phone at 212.998.6797 or by email, Tim.Farrell@nyu.edu.
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