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

Yasmin Gunaratnam is a reader in sociology at Goldsmiths University. Her previous books include Death and the Migrant. Amarjit Chandan has published seven collections of poetry and four books of essays. His poems have appeared in anthologies and magazines worldwide.
 
 

"Berger's most tangible influences were that tiny band of intellectuals who combined fine-art criticism with a social conscience: John Ruskin; Oscar Wilde; Walter Benjamin. Great writers all, and 82-year-old Berger is their equal." (The Guardian)

"Berger's republished works underscore that it is still very much possible, even long after the heyday of literary modernism has passed, to be formally adventurous and deeply readable, sharply critical of the status quo and unremittingly humane—all at the same time." (New Statesman)

"Berger’s gift was always to make wild, enlightening connections, darting between centuries and genres, anchoring aesthetic response within his own experiences of urban and rural life." (Financial Times)

"In Berger’s hands, then, art itself is a kind of criticism. It 'cannot be used to explain the mysterious,' only to make the mysterious 'easier to notice.' For all that he has written, his genius is evident not in what he says of art, but in his ability to amplify its many voices." (Slate)

“The essays in this collection speak to the great range of Berger’s writing that time and again reveals a crucial and often unspoken history of our times.” (Michael Ondaatje, author of The English Patient)

“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 Capitalism: A Ghost Story)

“An outstanding celebration of the commitment, compassion, and fierceness of John’s generosity in his life and work. For decades, Berger 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)

“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 Capitalism: A Ghost Story)

“Like Berger himself: remarkable in every sense. This collection is expansive, intimate, sensuous, poetic, and political. A book that enriches the soul.” (Suad Amiry)

“The essays in this collection speak to the great range of Berger’s writing that time and again reveals a crucial and often unspoken history of our times.”
  (Michael Ondaatje, author of The English Patient)