News

Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor Talks Justice, Civic Engagement at Radcliffe Day

News

Church Says It Did Not Authorize ‘People’s Commencement’ Protest After Harvard Graduation Walkout

News

‘Welcome to the Battlefield’: Maria Ressa Talks Tech, Fascism in Harvard Commencement Address

Multimedia

In Photos: Harvard’s 373rd Commencement Exercises

News

Rabbi Zarchi Confronted Maria Ressa, Walked Off Stage Over Her Harvard Commencement Speech

Genet Postpones Talk, Fatigued by Lectures

By Jeffrey S. Golden

French poet and novelist Jean Genet, who is touring the United States to express his solidarity with the Black Panther Party, will appear at M.I.T.'s Kresge Auditorium tonight at 7 p.m. Genet, whose controversial play The Blacks recently ran at the Lobe, will speak on a panel with local Panther spokesmen about black liberation and its relation to world revolution.

Genet was originally scheduled to speak in the M.I.T. student center last night, but was reportedly too exhausted by the pace of his American tour, which began last Saturday, to make the appearance. About 700 people squeezed into the center's Lordell dining room and waited for half an hour before an unidentified Panther announced the cancellation of the program.

"I've got some bad news." he said. When the crowd groaned, he quickly added, "Oh, don't worry. He's gonna be here. But he's gonna be here tomorrow night. Right now he's passed out in Brookline. See, what he is is a sixty-year-old speed freak, and he's been traveling fast, and, you know, that stuff catches up with you after a while."

Want to keep up with breaking news? Subscribe to our email newsletter.

Tags