Other Septembers, Many Americas

'Over the years, Ariel Dorfman has written movingly and often brilliantly of the cultural dislocations and political fractures of his dual heritage. Dorfman has, in an impressive body of work, done justice to the two languages that have battled for his voice and the two countries that claim his allegiance.' Shashi Tharoor, New York Times Book Review Other Septembers, Many Americas: Selected Provocations, 1980-2004 is the first major collection of acclaimed novelist and playwright Ariel Dorfman's best shorter works, including essays, opinion pieces, poems and previously unpublished speeches. Gathered here are writings about America, North and South, that touch on topics as diverse as Scrooge McDuck, barbarians, Vietnam and video games, and as profound as redemption, forgiveness, art and memory. Over and over, in a literary career that has spanned almost a quarter of a century, Dorfman weaves together sentiment and politics with an unmistakable message to his readers that we must never forget to resist and to imagine. This collection forms a rich historical and social text essential for anyone who wishes to understand how the roots of our present crisis are embedded deep within the American psyche, documented by a writer who exists uniquely both inside and out of it.