Body Blows: Six Performances

by Tim Miller, Tony Kushner (Foreward), Dona Ann McAdams (Photos)

    Hailed for his humor and passion, the internationally acclaimed performance artist Tim Miller has delighted, shocked, and emboldened audiences all over the world. Body Blows gathers six of Miller’s best-known performances that chart the sexual, spiritual, and political topography of his identity as a gay Some Golden States, Stretch Marks, My Queer Body, Naked Breath, Fruit Cocktail, and Glory Box. In Body Blows , Tim Miller leaps from the stage to the page, as each performance script is illustrated with striking photographs and accompanied by Miller’s notes and comment.
    This book explores the tangible body blows—taken and given—of Miller’s life and times as explored in his the queer-basher’s blow, the sweet blowing breath of a lover, the below-the-belt blow of HIV/AIDS, the psychic blows from a society that disrespects the humanity of lesbian and gay relationships. Miller’s performances are full of the put-up-your-dukes and stand-your-ground of such day-to-day blows that make up being gay in America

Genres: LGBT, Drama, Theatre, Plays

241 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Tim Miller is an internationally acclaimed performance artist. He is author of three books.

Reviews

[Jacob Blank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Foundational text for gay men making autobiographical art.

[Arda · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first heard of Tim Miller (and read on the controversy around him and Villanova University,) I thought that maybe he's the promiscuous type; maybe he's the "gay-in-your-face-now-get-outta-my-way" type; maybe he's fully about being gay and dismissing anyone and anything else. But getting introduced to Tim Miller, his writing, his performances, and his way of depicting things, has shattered those assumptions, not only assumptions about him, but about a whole lot that may be out there, specifically in PERFORMANCE. The idea of nudity, it turns out, scares the living hell out of people, but Miller emphasizes on it not for the sake of seduction, rather to point on defects in us, as humans in our bodies, and also in our minds. His transparency, honesty, and activism give room for much to be challenged and inspired by.

[Kaysy Ostrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 21 of 2015: 4/5 stars
I did a solo performance workshop with Tim Miller about a year and a half ago. His workshop was so inspiring that I bought his book for $10. Inside he wrote: "Kaysy! Claim all aspects of your lion! Brave AND cowardly and & reflective" which is a sentiment that has totally stuck with me. His writing here is brilliant and beautiful and heartbreaking and inspiring as I thought it would be. I just WISH I could see it live. Performance never quite translates exactly to text, otherwise I swear I'd give it that 5th star. So happy to have read this finally!

[John Ortega · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're ever looking for a good book of solid performances that not only inspire thought, but allow you to really relate to the author on multiple levels, this book is for you. I'd recommend Tim Miller to anyone.

[behsforensics]

Cutting is for The Glory Box (from Body Blows – Six Performances)
By Tim Miller