Event

REBECCA SOLNIT @ Berkeley Arts & Letters

In the aftermath of a disaster, so many people suddenly become altruistic, resilient, resourceful, and brave, stirred and motivated by a newfound sense of community and purpose. Why is this? They may not have liked what happened, but they clearly liked who they briefly became when they were thrown into such an intensely absorbing present. Award-winning author Rebecca Solnit explores this emotion and the circumstances that surround it, showing how disaster throws people into a temporary utopia of changed states of mind, and how the social connectedness that subsequently arises can help leads us to a new vision of what society could become one that is more collaborative, cooperative, and local.

Solnits narrative travels through five major North American disasters, from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the 1917 explosion that tore up Halifax, Nova Scotia to the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and a myriad of smaller ones, along with Hollywoods take on disaster and heroism, anarchists, disaster sociologists, and other forms of social engagement that produce society and create exhilaration, from carnivals and fiestas to parades and political revolutions. The unseen patterns and meanings she locates are stunning.

Rebecca Solnit is the author of ten books, including River of Shadows.

Solnit knows where the magic is hidden in our world, and with her precise yet beguiling prose shes helping to weave the spells that may bring it into plain view. Bill McKibben, Los Angeles Times

7:30 PM
Berkeley Arts & Letters @ The Hillside Club
2286 Cedar Street, Berkeley
Â $12 advance ($6 students with ID advance)/$15 door