Bill Goldstein, photo by Bill Hayes; Thymaya Payne, photo courtesy the artist.
Tickets
General Ticket: $25
Member Ticket: Free, RSVP Required
What are the points of intersection between writing a biography and writing a memoir? Authors Bill Goldstein and Thymaya Payne explore this and more! The two discuss their latest literary endeavors that find them in a state of “trusting the process.” Each will share an excerpt from their current works-in-process before diving into a discussion about the intersections of their practices and experiences. Moderated by Kristen Santori, the talk will close with a welcomed Q&A with the audience.
Goldstein’s work-in-process is a biography of Larry Kramer, the legendary American playwright, novelist, film producer, and AIDS activist. His work is born from years of research as well as a working relationship with Kramer while he was alive. This vantage point of both being present in Kramer’s physical timeline as well as conducting the research as a third person observer has presented unique challenges to Goldstein’s process.
Payne shifts gears to turn the narrative to his own life, a sharp contrast to researched-based works that explored the lives of others – including his forthcoming biography on civil rights leader Walter White and a documentary film on Somalian Pirates. His memoir-in-process, entitled AIDS, Raves, and Pirates, explores reflections on his relationship with his father. Payne’s process explores the validity of memory and questions the mind and heart’s tendency toward projection.
Both Goldstein’s and Payne’s projects were in development here at The Church during Goldstein’s and Payne’s respective residencies.
Programmed in tandem with our Fall exhibition Here & There: The First Churchennial, this program also falls on what would be the 38th anniversary of a massive LGBT march on Washington as well as National coming out day. Join us as we honor the legacy of an activist, celebrate our LGBTQIA+ community, and stand together in allyship and community.
BILL GOLDSTEIN
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Bill Goldstein reviews books for NBC's Weekend Today in New York, and was the founding editor of The New York Times books website. A graduate of the University of Chicago, Goldstein received a PhD in English from the City University of New York Graduate Center. He is writing a biography of Larry Kramer, to be published by Crown. He worked on the book as a resident at The Church in 2022, and was awarded a 2024-25 Public Scholars grant by the National Endowment for the Humanities to support his continuing work on the book. He is the author of The World Broke in Two: Virginia Woolf, T. S. Eliot, D. H. Lawrence, E. M. Forster, and the Year that Changed Literature, published in 2017.Description text goes here
THYMAYA PAYNE
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Thymaya Payne is a biracial, queer writer and filmmaker. Thymaya's first feature film was a five-year journey into Somali piracy called "Stolen Seas," which was hailed as "magnificent" by the New York Times and Variety. Stolen Seas was released by Goldcrest Films and won the Boccolino d'Oro at the Locarno Film Festival Critics Week, the John Schlesinger Award at the International Palm Springs Film Festival, and enjoys a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In 2015, Thymaya co-wrote and produced the independent film "Live Cargo," directed by Logan Sandler and starring Lakeith Stanfield and Dree Hemingway. Thymaya also co-wrote "Across Our Lands," directed by Fiona Godivier and executive produced by Joaquin Phoenix, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017. In 2018, Thymaya developed a television series called "Scrap" with Samuel L. Jackson attached. Currently, Thymaya is finishing a memoir called "AIDS, Raves and Pirates" and "A Man Called White," a documentary/biopic about the overlooked American civil rights hero Walter F. White. Thymaya has a particular passion for surfing—which he does poorly— and elephants. He lives in New York City and works as the director of advancement at Swiss Institute.