Tuesday Talks: Janet Uhlar: "Whitey Bulger: Probing the Narrative"

SPEAKER: JANET UHLAR
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2022 – 5:00 PM

IN PERSON AT THE ATWOOD MUSEUM

For sixteen years Whitey Bulger was on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list. During this time books were written about him, movies and documentaries produced, and reams of newsprint sold. The basis of the narrative came from testimony of fellow criminals who escaped the electric chair and long prison sentences. Not one journalist, author, producer, screenwriter, or actor corresponded with/or interviewed Bulger.

After sitting on his jury – knowing half the jurors doubted the honesty of key witnesses against him given the outrageous deals they made for their freedom—I had many questions.
I went to Bulger for the answers. Bulger had a lot to say about the circumstances of his criminality, creation, and even his ultimate murder.

ABOUT JANET UHLAR:

Author of three books, lecturer, and screenplay writer, Janet Uhlar’s genre is rarely seen. She was a juror in the trial of James “Whitey” Bulger – an experience that forever changed her. It wasn’t Bulger’s criminality — that was anticipated. It was the corruption revealed within the DOJ and FBI, detailed in numerous testimonies  Janet offers a presentation of what she learned during and after the trial through five years of correspondence and personal conversations with Bulger (and others related to the case). She is the first to offer Bulger’s story, as told by him. (Per legal counsel, she has written her story as a roman a clef, titled, The Truth Be Damned.)

Janet also authored two books on forgotten heroes of the American Revolution: Liberty’s Martyr: The Story of Dr. Joseph Warren (2009), and Freedom’s Cost: The Story of General Nathanael Greene (2011). She presents biography through the living, breathing form of biographical fiction with the intent of inspiring an audience not accustomed to picking up a work of nonfiction.

 Janet is a co-founder of The Open Doorway of Cape Cod, Inc., a nonprofit advocate group for those suffering with substance use disorder. She was a founding member of Cape Cod and the Islands Commission on the Status of Women. She is involved in various historical preservation activities.

Janet is a nurse and the proud mother of five, and grandmother of one. Born and reared in Quincy, MA, she now lives on Cape Cod.