Weak Planet: Literature and Assisted Survival

In Weak Planet, Wai Chee Dimock explores how literature can teach us to face climate change, suggesting that hope can be found in incremental and unspectacular teamwork, rather than heroic statements. She looks at various works that survive through kinship with strangers and the nonhuman world, including user-amended captivity narratives, nontragic sequels, induced forms of Irishness, and the experimentations afforded by a blurry Islam.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 20 October 2020
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

Vulnerability is a pervasive phenomenon that manifests itself in various contexts, including long-standing institutions, devastating pandemics, and even the very foundations of democracy. Moreover, it is alarming to observe its presence in ecosystems that are unlikely to sustain a viable future. In the face of the immense challenges posed by climate change, Wai Chee Dimock poses a crucial question in her book, Weak Planet: What can literature teach us about navigating these vast-scale hazards?

Dimock offers a forward-thinking approach by drawing inspiration from works that forge connections with strangers and the nonhuman world. Through a multidisciplinary lens encompassing Native American studies, disability studies, and environmental humanities, she demonstrates how hope can be found in modest, incremental, and often unspectacular teamwork. By shifting the traditional focus away from dominant institutions, Dimock highlights incomplete gestures that are given a new life through the assistance of others.

In her exploration, Dimock examines a diverse range of literary examples. She delves into user-amended captivity narratives by authors such as Louise Erdrich and Sherman Alexies, nontragic sequels to Moby-Dick by C. L. R. James, Frank Stella, and Amitav Ghosh, induced forms of Irishness in works by Henry James, Colm Tóibín, W. B. Yeats, and Gish Jen, and the experimentations afforded by a blurry Islam in the writings of Henri Matisse, James Joyce, Ezra Pound, and Langston Hughes.

Through her celebration of literature's durability as an assisted outcome, Weak Planet provides us with fresh perspectives on our collective future. It offers us new ways of thinking about our shared destiny and encourages us to embrace the power of teamwork, collaboration, and the interconnectedness of all beings in the face of daunting challenges. By drawing on the rich tapestry of literary works, Dimock invites us to envision a more resilient and sustainable world, one that is built on the foundations of empathy, understanding, and a deep appreciation for the natural world.

Weight: 314g
Dimension: 139 x 216 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780226477107