The UT Disability Studies Program will present gun-toting cyborg poet and performance artist Dr. Jillian Weise Monday, Sept. 19, at 3:30 p.m. in the Canaday Center for Special Collections on the fifth floor of Carlson Library.
Weise, who has won prestigious awards for her writing, will discuss gun ownership, cyborg culture, and the disturbing prevalence of ableism in the 21st century. She also will perform some of her award-winning poems.
Weise
“Jillian Weise is insightful, provocative and entertaining all at once,” said Ferris, the Ability Center Endowed Chair in Disability Studies at the University. “She may well be the sassiest scholar to visit campus this year.”
Weise’s books include The Amputee’s Guide to Sex, The Colony, and The Book of Goodbyes, which won the James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets.
Her poems, “Biohack Manifesto” and “Future Biometrics” won the 2015 Wood Prize from Poetry magazine. Her essays include “Why I Own a Gun,” “Going Cyborg” and “Cloning Disabled Subjects.”
She has received fellowships from the Fine Arts Work Center, the Fulbright Program and the Lannan Foundation.
Weise is playing the role of fictional character Tipsy Tullivan, who gives writing tips on YouTube and Instagram.
For more information on the free, public program, contact the Disability Studies Program at 419.530.7244.
