Paul Outlaw
Artist’s Quote
I never knew what longing was
No, I never knew what longing was
Until I sold all my secrets and I threw away my tears
But I couldn’t shake the sleepless dreams
Luminary’s Quote
Then you came along
With your siren song
To tempt me to madness
I thought for awhile
That your poignant smile
Was tinged with the sadness
Of a great love for me
Yes, I was wrong
Again, I was wrong
– Billy Strayhorn
Strayhorn, Billy. “Lush Life,” Tempo Music, 1949.
Bio
Paul Outlaw is a writer, vocalist and theater maker, at home in the worlds of performance art, spoken word, text-based drama and American popular song in its various incarnations. His solo projects and collaborations have been presented across the United States and in Europe, where he lived full-time for ten years and currently maintains a part-time residence in Berlin. The central themes of his artistic practice are the constructs of race and sexual identity, and how violence has haunted them throughout Euro-American history.
Paul’s work is physical, sonically dynamic and unsettlingly funny: “I’m obsessed with exploring the relationship between performers, audiences and space, which can involve the unconventional use of traditional spaces or, conversely, the traditional use of unconventional spaces—and, of course, the unconventional use of unconventional spaces. Simply put, I’m fascinated by transformation and I believe in the transformative power of live performance.”