"The funniest, smartest, most heartbreaking yet powerful book I've read in a long time." —John Waters
"An extraordinary meditation on nothing less than—I don't know how else to say it—the human condition." —David Shields, author of Reality Hunger
With an unusual, disarming blend of autobiography and cultural commentary, noted poet and critic Wayne Koestenbaum takes us through a spectrum of mortifying circumstances—in history, literature, art, current events, music, film, and his own life. His generous disclosures and brilliant observations go beyond prurience to create a poetics of abasement. Inventive, poignant, erudite, and playful, Humiliation plunges into one of the most disquieting of human experiences, with reflections at once emboldening and humane.
This video features "Der Freischütz, J. 277 - Overture," by Carl Maria von Weber and performed by Skidmore College Orchestra, available under a Creative Commons Public Domain License.
