The City That Killed the President: A Cultural History of Dallas and the Assassination - Hardcover

by Tim Cloward (Author)

A creative cultural history of Dallas through the lens of its defining twentieth century event: JFK's assassination.

The assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, shocked America. Instantly, Dallas was blamed for the killing, labeled "the City of Hate." In the half century since the president's murder, this city's artists and writers have produced important, if often overlooked, work that speaks to the difficult burden of our civic shaming.

Here are the works of poetry, theater, journalism, art, the actions of our citizens and political leaders, all the fragments of our cultural life that address this tortured local history. The City That Killed the President is a fitful discourse offering a window into Dallas itself, a city reluctant to grapple with its past.

Author Biography

Tim Cloward is a writer/educator who lives in Dallas, Texas. He holds a Ph.D. in Aesthetic Studies from the University of Texas at Dallas. The founder of the poetry/performance troupe Dancing Tongue, he has also worked with Poetry Circus and Question Authority, both acclaimed multi-disciplinary performance ensembles. A prominent arts organizer, he spent a decade as a contributor/programmer for the North Texas Literary organization, WordSpace. He currently teaches a Theory of Knowledge class at Uplift Atlas Academy, where he is helping establish an International Baccalaureate program for underserved urban students. He is married to singer/artist/poet Lisa Huffaker.