Comforting Myths - (Kapnick Foundation Distinguished Writer-In-Residence Lectures) by Rabih Alameddine (Hardcover)

About the Book

"In this collection of brief essays (the first originally a lecture), Rabih Alameddine questions the premise of dividing politics and art into an either/or proposition. He points to the underlying political nature of most works of literature and reveals how a political dimension enlarges a work of art rather than making it less beautiful or reducing it to a polemic. And he ponders what makes art political to begin with: how essential is the artist's conscious political intent, and what does the reader or viewer contribute to the work's political capacity or significance? In exploring these questions, Alameddine engages intensely with his role as an immigrant and a gay author writing inside a globally dominant culture, and invokes the work of numerous writers, from Tayeb Salih and Aleksandar Hemon to Teju Cole and Salman Rushdie, who also struggle to be heard as something more than an "other.""--

Book Synopsis

A timely and urgent inquiry by one of global literature's leading lights

In this concisely argued and illuminating book, the PEN/Faulkner Award-winning author Rabih Alameddine takes the subject of politics and art head-on, questioning the very premise of dividing these two pillars of culture into an either/or proposition. He reveals how a political dimension enlarges a work of art rather than making it less beautiful or reducing it to a polemic, as we are so often and carelessly taught. But he also ponders what makes art political to begin with: how essential is the artist's conscious political intent, and what does the reader or viewer contribute to the work's political capability or significance? In exploring these questions, Alameddine engages intensely with his role as an immigrant and a gay author writing inside a globally dominant, often oblivious culture, and invokes the work of numerous writers, from Tayeb Salih and Aleksandar Hemon to Teju Cole and Salman Rushdie, who also struggle to be heard as something more than an "other." The book features throughout Alameddine's brilliantly relatable voice--shrewd, humorous, challenging, and as honest about his own limitations as he is about his passions.

Review Quotes

Alameddine's lucid analysis cuts to the heart of contemporary discussions about the intersections of politics, identity, and fiction. This is essential reading.-- "Publishers Weekly"

This slim volume consists of two essays that he delivered as lectures, the second of which was published in Harper's Magazine in 2018. In both, he plays the role of political gadfly....Alameddine might not always be convincing, but he is consistently entertaining. A provocative pair of essays.-- "Kirkus Reviews"

A provocative treatise by one of our most important literary writers on the role of politics in literature. Like all of his work, it is both wise and funny.--Amy Tan, author of The Joy Luck Club

About the Author

Rabih Alameddine is an award-winning fiction writer and Chair of the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice at Georgetown University. His most recent novel is The Wrong End of the Telescope.