Granta 146: The Politics of Feeling

Description

Guest-edited by Devorah Baum and Josh AppignanesiWe’re living through hysterical times. Rage, resentment, shame, guilt and paranoia are everywhere surfacing, as is the intemperate adoration or hatred of popular but divisive public figures. Political discourse suffers when people seem to trust only what they feel and can no longer be swayed by reason or facts. If extreme feelings are a contagion within the political cultures of today, so too is the spread of a kind of affectlessness, as if we’re starting to resemble the very technologies that threaten to replace us. Featuring vital new fiction, non-fiction, photography and poetry from across the globe, this issue is all about how our feelings make our politics, and how our politics make us feel.Adam Phillips, in conversation, analyses politics in the consulting roomDavid Baddiel probes the outrage of life onlineYvonne Adhiambo Owuor witnesses devastationAnouchka Grose on becoming a social justice warriorPeter Pomerantsev unearths his data profile to conduct sentiment analysisPoppy Sebag-Montefiore on China’s public sense of touchFabi�n Mart�nez Siccardi on growing up in PatagoniaMargie Orford explores shame in South AfricaJosh Cohen inspects his own apathyHisham Matar reflects on Joseph Conrad and Edward SaidHanif Kureishi on Keith Johnstone and Keith JarrettWilliam Davies on affective politics Chloe Aridjis revisits the wild nights of her teenage years in Mexico City PLUS FICTION: Benjamin Markovits, Olga Tokarczuk and Joff WinterhartPOETRY: Alissa Quart and Nick Laird PHOTOGRAPHY: Diana Matar, introduced by Max HoughtonDevorah Baum is associate professor in English literature at the University of Southampton. She is the author of Feeling Jewish (A Book for Just About Anyone) and The Jewish Joke, and co-director of the documentary feature film The New Man. Josh Appignanesi is a film-maker whose directing credits include the feature films Female Human Animal, The Infidel, The New Man and Song Of Songs. He is a lecturer in Film at Roehampton University, and teaches at the London Film School and other institutions.