Description
Why are activists throwing soup at Van Gogh's Sunflowers? What associations does the poisonous brown recluse spider have with a centuries old myth from the Sundarbans? How does an ancient Chinese calligrapher's recording of snowfall on his way home connect with Indian farmers marching for justice in Delhi or Mumbai? In The Climate Crossroads, the author weaves his own journey as a writer of critically acclaimed climate stories and environmental activist with personal anecdotes, literary theory, philosophy, history, and art, presenting a multi-faceted portrayal of literature's ongoing encounter with climate change.
Blending engaging storytelling with lucid analysis of a few important climate novels, the book explores how stories help us comprehend this existential crisis and prepare ourselves to experience the unimaginable. Underpinned by strong theoretical foundations which range from Kantian ethics to the Freudian uncanny, and presented with a medley of visualisations, the book reveals the hidden dynamics between planet, politics and literary art as it bears witness to literature's quest for meaning in unprecedented times.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
I Maps
1 A rainy night in the north: Reading, writing and looking for clues
2 Poets, volcanoes and a Chinese calligrapher: Climate, history and literature
3 Michelangelo, mustard and Mother Earth: Recipes for climate stories
4 The little woman's great war: Stories in action
II Routes
5 The Vienna Cafe: Climate and planet
6 A difficult marriage: Climate and aesthetics
7 Heart of darkness: Climate and justice
III Discoveries
8 The cortege and the suncatcher: The abiding possibilities of climate stories
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
Product details
| Published | 30 Apr 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Hardback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Pages | 384 |
| ISBN | 9789369520305 |
| Imprint | Bloomsbury Academic India |
| Dimensions | 216 x 135 mm |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing India Pvt. Ltd |
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