On 17 September, 6.30 pm, we will host a book release event with Kenny Fries, in combination with his new memoir In the Province of the Gods. Some will remember Kenny Fries from his interview that was part of the exhibition Homosexualität_en.
His new book he embarks on a journey of profound self-discovery as a disabled foreigner in Japan, a society historically hostile to difference. As he visits gardens, experiences Noh and butoh, and meets artists and scholars, he also discovers disabled gods, one-eyed samurai, blind chanting priests, and A-bomb survivors. When he is diagnosed as HIV positive, all his assumptions about Japan, the body, and mortality are shaken, and he must find a way to reenter life on new terms.
Kenny Fries will present the book personally in our museum and discuss with the audience, after a reading of selected passages.
Fries is the author of Body, Remember: A Memoir and The History of My Shoes and the Evolution of Darwin’s Theory. He is the editor of Staring Back: The Disability Experience from the Inside Out. He teaches in the MFA in Creative Writing Program at Goddard College and is the recipient of a prestigious Creative Capital grant.