StorePast Event
The Tale of Plagues and Carnivals: Samuel R. Delany with Tavia Nyong'o
Zoom — In Partnership with the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art
Date:
Thursday, November 18, 2021 from 6:30pm–8:30pm
Visual AIDS Event
To celebrate the publication of DUETS: Frederick Weston & Samuel R. Delany in Conversation earlier this year, Visual AIDS and the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art hosted a discussion with Samuel R. Delany and Tavia Nyong’o, moderated by Kyle Croft, Visual AIDS Programs Director.
Opening out from Delany’s remarks in DUETS about the deep impact of AIDS on sex, urban space, and his own work, the two reflected on Delany’s 1984 story “The Tale of Plagues and Carnivals.” Published in 1985 as part of the collection Flight from Nevèrÿon, the story toggles between 1980s New York City and Delany’s sword and sorcery Nevèrÿon universe, balancing fantasy and imagination with documentary accounts of gay life.
One of the first novel-length stories to address AIDS, “The Tale of Plagues and Carnivals” was written in the early years of the epidemic, when scientists were still working to identify HIV as the cause of AIDS. Delany’s self-reflexive prose presciently reflects on the need for—and pitfalls of—metaphor in a time of plague.
DUETS: Frederick Weston & Samuel R. Delany in Conversation
Frederick Weston (1946–2020) and Samuel R. Delany come together for a wide-ranging dialogue, reflecting on their overlapping histories in Times Square, the deep impact of AIDS on their creative practices, and the ever-changing intersections of race, sex, language, and art. With additional contributions by Bruce Benderson, Svetlana Kitto, and Tavia Nyong’o.
Order now for $10 at visualaids.org/store
Participant Bios
Samuel R. Delany is a novelist and critic. His most recent books include Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders (2012, Magnus Books; and more recently published in a corrected edition by the author on Amazon in 2018) and The Atheist in the Attic (2018, PM Press). He lives in Philadelphia.
Tavia Nyong’o is Curator of Public Programs at Park Avenue Armory and teaches queer black performance theory at Yale University. He is the author of two books, Afro-Fabulations: The Queer Drama of Black Life (2018) and The Amalgamation Waltz: Race, Performance, and the Ruses of Memory (2009), as well as numerous essays on art, music, theater, culture, and politics.
This program is funded in part by Humanities New York with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.