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"There is a girl with me, in the air above my body," he continued. "A little girl boy. She cries and I hold her hand and run through the terrain of that place where this thing is, this thing I want to devour. That I want to battle in the heavens."
When the story was over, the audience broke into whoops and hollers in perhaps the strongest reaction of the night. Gray gathered up his clothes and walked back down the aisle naked, waving at the audience with the hand in which he carried his shoes. He disappeared into the darkness at the back of the room as Read reclaimed the stage. "God, the human body is such a miracle," he said. "Sometimes I feel like more people getting naked in public is the only way."
For the last act, a tall black performance artist stripped down and did unspeakable things with a corncob. Then the lights came on to signify the end of the show.
As people filed out of the room, many stopped to talk to Gray, congratulating him and shaking his hand. "Where could I read your stuff?" one guy asked.
Gray was composed and steady. And although the performance has its challenges — he was hot, and had a hard time standing still for so long — he felt good about it. "It's better than when I read it to myself," he says. "It's better than reading alone."
Peter Jamison contributed to the reporting for this story.
