A jar of wild flowers: essays in celebration of John Berger

Description

In this collection of essays on the work of, and conversations with, John Berger, thirty 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 real, extended generosity. With contributions from Ali Smith, Julie Christie, Sally Potter, Ram Rahman, Nick Thorpe, Hsiao-Hung Pai, and many others. The colour of the cosmos -- Graphite / Hans Jürgen Balmes -- Hay / Rema Hammami and John Berger -- Fire / Kathryn Yusoff -- Milk / Ana Amália Alves -- Blood / Gavin Francis -- Forest / Nikos Papastergiadis -- Toast / Michael Broughton -- Oil / Tessa McWatt -- The trees are in their place -- Fences / Nick Thorpe -- Method / Iain Chambers -- Life / Glenn Jordon -- Meetings / Nirmal Puwar -- Pain / Francisco-J. Hernández Adrián -- Secrets / Hsiao-Hung Pai -- Once through a lens -- Memory / Heather Vrana -- Stars / Vikki Bell -- Conscience / Ram Rahman -- Performance / Doa Aly -- A mirror / Rashmi Duraiswamy -- Undefeated despair -- Trauma / Alicia Salomone -- Jest / Salima Hashmi -- Hate / Mustafa Dikeç -- Hope / Malathi de Alwis -- Spirit / Tania Tamari Nasir -- Propaganda / Rochelle Simmons -- Here is where we meet -- Notes / Amarjit Chandan -- Verbs / Ali Smith -- Play / N. Rajyalakshmi interviews Pushpamala N. -- Tenderness / Christina Linardaki -- Love / Julie Christie -- Courage / Yahia Yakhlef -- Solidarity / Ambalavaner Sivanandan -- Tennis / John Christie.