Barry Sanders: The Subversive Humor of Lenny Bruce

When Barry Sanders was an undergraduate in Los Angeles in the 1960s he attended Lenny Bruces infamous performances nearly every night. He eventually befriended Bruce and wrote about his experiences with the provocative comedian in Sudden Glory: Laughter as Subversive History (1996), his acclaimed book about the corrosive power of laughter in society. Sanders, a prolific author and professor emeritus of Pitzer College, discusses Bruces outrageous routines and how they forever changed American popular culture.

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