A REPORT ON THE AFTERLIFE OF CULTURE

Essays

— Emeryville, Ont.: Biblioasis, 2008.

A new collection of essays and articles coming soon from Biblioasis.  The January/February 2008 issue of Quill & Quire named A Report on the Afterlife of Culture as one of the Spring 2008 non-fiction books to watch, writing that it “has the potential to be just as talked-about [as When Words Deny the World].”

Below you can read the publisher’s description of this new book:

“In A Report on the Afterlife of Culture, one of Canada’s most provocative writers ranges across continents, centuries and linguistic traditions to examine how literary culture and our perception of history are changing as the world grows smaller.    Weaving together daring literary criticism with front-line reporting on events such as the end of the Cold War  in Poland, the plight of indigenous cultures in Mexico and Guatemala, and African reactions to the G8 Summit, Henighan evokes a world where astonishing cultural riches flourish under siege from all-consuming commercialized uniformity. Whether illustrating in irreverent detail the reasons for the popularity of Ian McEwan’s Atonement,  providing authoritative accounts of the work of writers such as Gabriel García Márquez, Alice Munro, Haruki Murakami or José Saramago, writing with fresh insight on Cuban literary politics or the practice of literary translation, or intervening with forceful clarity in debates about the Giller Prize, book reviewing or Margaret Atwood’s LongPen book-signing technology, Henighan is equally engaged with the word and the world.  

“The work of a writer whose vision is simultaneously local and global,  A Report on the Afterlife of Culture is entertaining and essential reading.”