And the Garden Is You

"Michael Taussig's works are known not only for their critical insights, but also for their bold and experimental style. In these essays, Taussig finds himself reflecting on the act of writing itself, revealing its importance for anthropological practice and calling for the discipline to keep experiential knowledge from extinguishing as fieldnotes become scholarship. Taussig calls for and exemplifies a form of exploratory writing that preserves the spontaneity and magic of notes scribbled down in haste. His reflections take us from his childhood in Sydney to trips to Afghanistan, Colombia, Finland, Italy, Turkey, and Syria. Along the way, Taussig also explores themes of fabulation and provocation that are central to his work, in addition to the thinkers dearest to him--Bataille, Benjamin, Burroughs, and Nietzsche, among others. This collection is vintage Taussig, bound to interest longtime readers and newcomers alike"--