A Jar of Wild Flowers: Essays in Celebration of John Berger

(Paperback)

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John Berger has made the world a better place to live in. These essays tell us how he succeeded in that task. Arundhati Roy In this collection of essays on the work of, and conversations with, John Berger, thirty-seven of his friends, artistic collaborators and followers come together to form the first truly international and cross-cultural celebration of his interventions. Berger has for decades, through his poetic humanism, brought together geographically, historically and socially disparate subjects. His work continues to throw out lifelines across genres, times and types of experience, opening up radical questions about the meaning of belonging and of community. In keeping with this spirit and in celebration of Berger, the short essays in A Jar of Wild Flowers challenge us all to take the brave step from limited sympathy to extended generosity. With contributions from Ali Smith, Julie Christie, Sally Potter, Ram Rahman, Jean Mohr, Nick Thorpe, Hsiao-Hung Pai and many others.

Reviews

A lively collection of celebration and gratitude. * Publishers Weekly *
An outstanding celebration of the commitment, compassion, and fierceness of John's generosity in his life and work. For decades, John has sought the heart of things and given strength. Come to this beautiful book for solidarity, for vision, and the affirmation that some voices are so true they must be heard. * Anne Michaels, poet and author of Fugitive Pieces *
There are a few authors that can change the way you look at the world through their writing and John Berger is one of them. * Jarvis Cocker, musician and author of Mother, Brother, Lover: Selected Lyrics (2012) *
The essays in this collection speak to the great range of John Berger's writing that so often reveals a crucial and often unspoken history of our times. * Michael Ondaatje, author of The English Patient *
Like John Berger himself: remarkable in every sense. This collection is expansive, intimate, sensuous, poetic, and political. A book that enriches the soul. * Suad Amiry, author of Sharon and My Mother-in-Law *
John Berger has made the world a better place to live in. I do not say this lightly. These essays tell us how he succeeded in that task. * Arundhati Roy, author of The God of Small Things *

Author Bio

Yasmin Gunaratnam teaches in sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her latest book is Death and the Migrant: Bodies, Borders, Care (2013).