Sleeping Among Sheep Under a Starry Sky
Essays 1985-2021
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Europa Editions (UK) Ltd
Published:18th Aug '22
Should be back in stock very soon
This collection of essays invites readers to explore the nature of self and society. Sleeping Among Sheep Under a Starry Sky challenges conventional views on beauty and connection.
In Sleeping Among Sheep Under a Starry Sky, Shawn presents a thought-provoking collection of essays developed over thirty-five years. He questions why the world is not a place filled with beauty and sensuality, where individuals can express love and creativity freely. Instead, he explores the darker aspects of human nature, pondering our obsession with power and the societal constructs that lead to division and conflict.
Shawn reflects on his privileged upbringing and the aesthetic pursuits that have shaped his worldview. He grapples with the idea that civilization may be the root of our destructiveness, raising questions about the nature of self and identity. Is the self merely an illusion, or is there a deeper understanding to be uncovered? Through this lens, Sleeping Among Sheep Under a Starry Sky invites readers to examine their own lives and the societal structures that define them.
With a blend of humor and introspection, Shawn's essays encourage a journey of self-discovery and critical thought. He challenges us to consider the possibility of a world where love and connection take precedence over competition and strife. The collection serves as both a personal reflection and a broader commentary on the human condition, making it a compelling read for anyone interested in philosophy, art, and the complexities of existence.
"Wallace Shawn is a bracing antidote to the op-ed dreariness of political and artistic journalism in the West. He takes you back to the days when intellectuals had the wit and concentration to formulate great questions-and to make the reader want to answer them." * DAVID HARE *
"Endlessly curious, playful, and subtle, Wallace Shawn represents, in our opinion-addled age, a vanishing ideal of the cosmopolitan sensibility. These wide-ranging essays are irresistible in their unique mix of compassion and acuity, moral passion and indifference to dogma." * Pankaj Mishra, author of Run and Hide and Age of Anger *
“Wallace Shawn’s essays are both powerful and riveting. To have such a gentle and incisive soul willing to say what others may be afraid to is considerably refreshing.” * MICHAEL MOORE *
“Wallace Shawn writes in a style that is deceptively simple, profoundly thoughtful, fiercely honest. His vocabulary is pungent, his wit delightful, his ideas provocative.” * HOWARD ZINN *
“Lovely, hilarious, and seriously thought-provoking.” * TONI MORRISON *
“WS’s manner is conversational but informed. He has a powerful sense, both as an actor and political essayist, of the extent to which our better selves are constrained by lines that have been written for us; by received ideas, the comforting deceptions of class, agency and so on. Behind most of these essays are questions about the unfairness of life to which the author responds -- fairly, I think -- without answers, only further questions of his own.” * Will Eaves, author of Murmur *
ISBN: 9781787703636
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
195 pages