Neil Shister to sign ‘Radical Ritual’ Aug. 3 at Browseabout in Rehoboth
In vivid and perceptive prose, “Radical Ritual” presents Burning Man as a vital and historically important event that impacts not only the art world, but also disaster relief, urban renewal, the utilization of renewable energy, and more.
Neil Shister, a six-time Burning Man attendee who has met and interviewed Burning Man co-founder Larry Harvey, traces the evolution of the event, starting with a scrap wood bonfire on a beach in San Francisco in 1986 to the present-day, weeklong extravaganzas in Black Rock City that sell out 75,000 tickets in less than an hour. ”Radical Ritual” s a clarifying and compelling cultural history of what has become a true phenomenon. Shister will appear at 10 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 3, at Browseabout Books, 133 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach.
Written from Shister’s perspective as a journalist, student of American culture, and participant in Burning Man, “Radical Ritual” presents the event as vitally, historically important. Shister contends that Burning Man is a significant player in the avant-garde, forging new social paradigms. Burning Man’s contribution to this new order is postmodern, a fusion of ‘60s humanism with state-of-the-art Silicon Valley wizardry. The story concludes with the sudden death in April 2018 of Larry Harvey, now renowned as the philosophical epicenter of the movement.
Shister is not alone in his opinion. In 2018, the Smithsonian dedicated its entire Renwick Gallery to an exhibition of Burning Man art and culture. The gathering intertwines conservative and progressive ideas. On one hand it is a celebration of self-reliance, personal accountability, and individual freedom; on the other hand it is based on strong values of inclusion, consensual decision making, and centered, collaborative endeavor.
Shister has been a correspondent with Time Magazine, a television critic for The Miami Herald, and an editor of Atlanta Magazine. He’s taught at Hampshire College, Boston University, and George Washington University. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Ivory Coast. He lives in Washington, D.C., with wife Catherine and son William.
