Alison Bechdel - "The Secret to Superhuman Strength"
Alison Bechdel discusses The Secret to Superhuman Strength.
Presented in partnership with the Chicago Humanities Festival
Virtual event
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About the book: Comics and cultural superstar Alison Bechdel delivers a deeply layered story of her fascination, from childhood to adulthood, with every fitness craze to come down the pike: from Jack LaLanne in the 60s ("Outlandish jumpsuit! Cantaloupe-sized guns!") to the existential oddness of present-day spin class. But the more Bechdel tries to improve herself, the more her self appears to be the thing in her way. She turns for enlightenment to Eastern philosophers and literary figures, including Beat writer Jack Kerouac, whose search for self-transcendence in the great outdoors appears in moving conversation with the author’s own. This gifted artist and not-getting-any-younger exerciser comes to a soulful conclusion. The secret to superhuman strength lies not in six-pack abs, but in something much less clearly defined: facing her own non-transcendent but all-important interdependence with others.
About Alison Bechdel: Alison Bechdel’s cult following for her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For expanded wildly for her best-selling memoirs, Fun Home, adapted into a Tony Award-winning musical, and Are You My Mother? Her many honors include being named a MacArthur Fellow and Cartoonist Laureate of Vermont.
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- Registered guests will receive a link to access the program from the Chicago Humanities Festival via email on the day of the event at the email address you used to make your purchase.
- General Tickets for non-members are $29, which includes access to the virtual event and a copy of The Secret to Superhuman Strength shipped directly to your door (U.S. addresses only).
- The conversation will premiere on YouTube on May 11th at 7pm central time. Registered guests will have a period of 7 days to enjoy the program.
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