My first book explores mirthful modes of political performance that inspire and sustain deadly serious struggles for revolutionary change. In response to queer theory’s long-suffering romance with mourning and melancholia and a national agenda that urges homosexuals to renounce pleasure in a bid to be taken seriously by mainstream society, I reanimate gaiety as a political value for progressive LGBT activism. Honors for Acts of Gaiety (University of Michigan Press, Triangulations Series):

Outstanding Book Award, Association for Theatre in Higher Education
Barnard Hewitt Award for Best Book in Theatre History, Honorable Mention, American Society of Theatre Research
Lambda Literary Award, Finalist

“Acts of Gaiety is a rollicking ride….And who wouldn’t want to spend the day reading about the Lavender Menace, Valerie Solanas, the Five Lesbian Brothers, and Hothead Paisan?”
– Lisa Duggan, NYU
*****

“a great read…with excellent research”
– Jack Halberstam, USC/Columbia

Acts of Gaiety was featured on the set of The Wooster Group’s The Town Hall Affair (2017), which revives a raucous 1971 debate on women’s liberation between Germaine Greer, Norman Mailer and Jill Johnston, the subject of my third chapter.

*The Town Hall*, The Wooster Group (2017)

Selected Articles & Book Chapters

I have published widely in academic books, scholarly journals, and the mainstream press on LGBT issues, feminism, theater and performance, prison reform, and other topics. You can view my complete bibliography on ORCID.