Lecture on the History of Skywriting

Floor Three, Susan and John Hess Family Theater

Poet Anne Carson performs Lecture on the History of Skywriting, a piece that adopts the perspective of the sky. The reading will be followed by a conversation with Faisal bin Ali Jaber, an engineer from Yemen whose brother-in-law Salem and nephew Waleed were killed by a U.S. drone strike in 2012. Video evidence of this strike is included in the Whitney’s current exhibition Laura Poitras: Astro Noise. The conversation will be moderated by Cori Crider, lawyer and director of Reprieve US, a human rights organization that represents civilian victims of the drone war. The program is organized in collaboration with Reprieve US.

Carson's work will be partly translated into Arabic for this event. This program is part of a series of public events, lectures, and talks organized in tandem with ​Laura Poitras: Astro Noise​.

Tickets are required ($15 adults; $12 members, students, and seniors). Please note: This event has reached ticketing capacity. A limited number of standby tickets may be available at the admissions desk on a first-come, first-served basis. The standby line will open one hour prior to the program’s start time.