Essays
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- $2.99
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
A collection of “deceptively simple, profoundly thoughtful, fiercely honest” essays on art, life, and politics by the acclaimed actor and playwright (Howard Zinn, author of Political Awakenings and Indispensable Zinn).
Whether writing about the genesis of his plays, such as Aunt Dan and Lemon; discussing how the privileged world of arts and letters takes for granted the people who serve our food and deliver our mail; describing his upbringing in the sheltered world of Manhattan’s cultural elite; or engaging in a fascinating interview with Noam Chomsky, Wallace Shawn has a unique ability to step back from the appearance of things to explore their deeper social meanings.
In these essays, Shawn grasps the unpleasant contradictions of modern life and challenges us to look at our own behavior in a more honest light. He also finds the pathos in the political and personal challenges of everyday life. With the same sharp wit and remarkable attention to detail that he brings to his critically acclaimed plays, Shawn invites us to look at the world with new eyes, the better to understand—and change it.
“Full of what you might call conversation starters: tricky propositions about morality . . . politics, privilege, runaway nationalist fantasies, collective guilt, and art as a force for change (or not) . . . It’s a treat to hear him speak his curious mind.” —O Magazine
“Lovely, hilarious and seriously thought provoking, I enjoyed it tremendously.” —Toni Morrison, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Caveat emptor: these witty, ironic, and observant essays by Wallace Shawn are brought to audio in a shoddy production with such poor sound quality that listeners may justifiably demand their money back. The microphone skips in and out so that parts of Shawn's narration are almost completely lost. In a reproduction of the 2004 interview that Shawn conducted with MIT linguist Noam Chomsky, the volume modulation varies so widely in the interview's second half that listening becomes irritating and difficult. (And the narration itself is confusing: Shawn plays Chomsky while Brian Jones plays Shawn, a role reversal that will sound bizarre to listeners who have already spent more than an hour with Shawn reading as himself.) Advice to Shawn's many fans: buy the hardcover of these worthy essays or seek out the pieces online; free versions of some are available on various Web sites or even on youtube.com. A Haymarket hardcover.