Power, Politics, and Culture: Interviews with Edward W. Said

Description

This important and compelling collection of interviews conducted with Edward Said over the last three decades reveals the eloquent and unique voice of a fascinating figure, who is not only an outstanding cultural and political critic but also, as Nadine Gordimer has written, “among the truly important intellects of our century.”

In these twenty-eight interviews gathered by Gauri Viswanathan, Professor of English at Columbia University, from publications both here and abroad—Europe, India, Pakistan, the Arab world, and Israel—Said addresses an extraordinary range of subjects, political, artistic, and personal. The passion he feels for literature, music, history, and politics is powerfully conveyed in these interviews, which include Said’s views on the role of the critic in society, the origins of Orientalism, musical performance, the importance of teaching, Glenn Gould, Giambattista Vico, Joseph Conrad, Theodor Adorno, the Gulf War, Israel, the Oslo peace accords, the future of Palestine, political correctness and censorship, Saddam Hussein, and the idea of national identity. The scope of the subjects covered confirms what The Washington Post Book World has
stated, that Said “challenges and stimulates our thinking in every area.”

Said speaks with his usual incisiveness and candor, and these interviews show the evolution of his ideas and serve as a complement to his prolific life’s work.

Reviews

“The flexible movement from one subject to another that is a feature of these collected interviews is a unique way to appreciate the concerns and accomplishments of Edward Said, arguably the most consequential literary, cultural, and geo-political critic of our time. However broad his range, Said is always attentive to the individual human, and not simply institutional investments that go into the creation of any work of historical or cultural achievement, the needs exhibited, the hopes engendered and deferred, the human price always to be paid.” –Richard Poirier

“These fascinating and revealing interviews reinforce Edward Said’s standing as one of our foremost public intellectuals. His is a democratic and cosmopolitan humanism unafraid to criticize familiar academic and political dogmas emanating from all parts of the political spectrum in order to enlarge our understanding of the world and of ourselves.” — Eric Foner

Author Biography

Edward Said (1935-2003) was one of the founding voices of postcolonial critical theory and the author of Orientalism, one of the most impassioned and influential works in its field. One of the most high profile advocates for Palestinian rights, he was also University Professor English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, USA. Edward Said was University Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He was the author of more than twenty books, including Orientalism, Culture and Imperialism and On Late Style and his essays and reviews appeared in newspapers and periodicals throughout the world. Edward Said died in September 2003.