Conversation, Screening

On February 10, 2005, Lynne Stewart was convicted of providing material support for a terrorist conspiracy. She is the first lawyer to be convicted of aiding terrorism in the United States. Stewart faces thirty years of prison and will be sentenced on December 22, 2005.

Artist Paul Chan, who has worked with a number of activist groups, has been working on a video with Lynne Stewart. The video focuses on the relationship between the language of poetry and the language of the law. Stewart speaks both languages, and employs poetry as a “knotting point” to connect ideas of beauty and justice for juries and judges alike. The video takes Stewart’s understanding of poetry and the law as a departure point to explore the possibilities of a poetics capable of articulating the pressures of terror and justice.

Chan will screen a work-in-progress of the video and a short selection of past work. He will then be joined by Stewart to talk about poetics and the law as well as the status of her case.
This event is part of the “Considering Forgiveness” Cycle.