| Author | Bob Flanagan |
|---|---|
| Editor | Sabrina Tarasoff |
| Cover artist | Lauren Graycar (designer) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Poetry, memoir, BDSM writing |
| Published | 2024 |
| Publisher | Kristina Kite Gallery / Pep Talk |
| Pages | 176 |
| Notes | First complete collection of Flanagan's poetry. |
Fun to be Dead: The Poems of Bob Flanagan is a posthumous poetry collection by Bob Flanagan, the American performance artist and writer. The collection features six books, within one volume, that document Flanagan's evolution as a poet and writer, as well as contributions by Jack Skelley, Sheree Rose, Chiara Moioli, David Trinidad, Dodie Bellamy, and Dennis Cooper.[1][2]
Background
Flanagan suffered from cystic fibrosis throughout his life, a disease that claimed the lives of two of his sisters.[3] Doctors expected him not to live past the age of seven, though he died at age 43.[1] By his late thirties, Flanagan had to hospitalize himself before and after his performances.[4]
A lifelong interest in BDSM became an obsession in both Flanagan's life and work, an obsession that was explored and managed with his wife Sheree Rose, a dominatrix.[4]
In 2022, a posthumous showing of Flanagan's work, titled "Flanagan's Wake" after Dennis Cooper's eulogy, premiered at the Kristina Kite Gallery in Los Angeles.[5]
Books
Fun to be Dead is one volume, organized into six sections (or "books"), with essays and critical commentaries included.[6] These books are:
- The Kid is the Man (1978)
- The Wedding of Everything (1983)
- Slave Sonnets (1986)
- Fuck Journal (1987) — originally Hanuman Books #13[7]
- A Taste of Honey (with David Trinidad) (1990) — originally a Sherwood Press collaboration
- The Book of Medicine — Flanagan's unfinished manuscript
Citations
- ^ Lafarge, Daisy (11 July 2024). "The Poetry of Bob Flanagan: 'The Realm of Clown or Seer'". Frieze. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ^ Athey, Ron (October 2024). "Bleeding Heart". Artforum. Vol. 63, no. 2. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ^ McRuer, Robert (2006). Crip Theory: Cultural Signs of Queerness and Disability. New York: NYU Press. p. 187. ISBN 9780814761090.
- ^ Cooper, Dennis (April 1996). "Flanagan's Wake". Artforum. Vol. 34, no. 8. pp. 78–81, 126.
- ^ Griffin, Jonathan (26 September 2022). "Flanagan's Wake at Kristina Kite Gallery, Los Angeles". ArtReview. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ^ "Fun to be Dead: The Poems of Bob Flanagan". Pep Talk. Retrieved 6 May 2026.
- ^ Tarasoff, Sabrina (30 May 2024). "Calisthenics: Bob Flanagan's Fuck Journal, from Fun to be Dead. The Poems of Bob Flanagan". Mousse Magazine. Retrieved 6 May 2026.