DICTIONARY OF THE UNDOING - Scarce Pristine Copy of The First Edition/First Printing: Signed by John Freeman - ONLY SIGNED COPY ONLINE

Freeman, John (Author) & Luiselli, Valeria (Contributor)

ISBN 10: 0374538859 / ISBN 13: 9780374538859

Published by New York City, NY: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2019, 2019

About this Item

1st Printing. Signed. 178 pages. Published in 2019. The author's book-length account on politics, presented as a Dictionary of Key Words. One of the most valuable literary and cultural events of our time. The First Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a softcover original and an FSG Originals title only. Presents John Freeman's "Dictionary of The Undoing". From one of the most intelligent and eloquent literary voices of our time, the Key Words, in alphabetical order, of the present moment of severe American and global political crisis: "From A to Z, from Agitate to Zygote". "Assembles the words that feel most essential, most potent, to build a case for their renewed power and authority, each word building on the last. The message is not to retreat behind books, but to emphatically engage in the public sphere, to redefine what it means to be a literary citizen. A necessary, resounding cri de coeur in defense of language, meaning, and our ability to imagine, describe, and build a better world" (Publisher's blurb). "How to be good in bad times? How to speak truth? Why read? Why write? Why bother? It is a symptom of our ongoing catastrophe that such questions must be asked, but we're lucky that John Freeman is out there looking for some answers. Language is Freeman's primary concern. He sets out to reclaim it and restore what was damaged by the onslaught of evil and idiocy" (Aleksandar Hemon). With an Afterword by the brilliant young novelist Valeria Luiselli, this is the best title in the FSG Originals series since Wayne Koestenbaum's "My 1980s And Other Essays" (2013). An absolute "must-have" title for John Freeman collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in blue ink-pen on the title page by John Freeman. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary classic. As far as we know, this is the only such signed copy of the First Edition/First Printing available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: John Freeman did NOT tour to promote the book. Published as a softcover original only. A scarce signed copy thus. One of the most brilliant new voices of our time. A fine copy. ISBN 0374538859.

Seller Inventory # 22458

Bibliographic Details

• Title: DICTIONARY OF THE UNDOING - Scarce Pristine Copy of The First Edition/First Printing: Signed by John Freeman - ONLY SIGNED COPY ONLINE
• Publisher: New York City, NY: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2019
• Publication Date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0374538859
• ISBN 13: 9780374538859
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: As New
• Dust Jacket Condition: None, As Issued
• Signed: Signed by Author

About this title

Synopsis

For John Freeman―literary critic, essayist, editor, poet, “one of the preeminent book people of our time” (Dave Eggers)―it is the rare moment when words are not enough. But in the wake of the election of 2016, words felt useless, even indulgent. Action was the only reasonable response. He took to the streets in protest, and the sense of community and collective conviction felt right. But the assaults continued―on citizens’ rights and long-held compacts, on the core principles of our culture and civilization, and on our language itself. Words seemed to be losing the meanings they once had and Freeman was compelled to return to their defense. The result is his Dictionary of the Undoing.

From A to Z, “Agitate” to “Zygote,” Freeman assembled the words that felt most essential, most potent, and began to build a case for their renewed power and authority, each word building on the last. The message that emerged was not to retreat behind books, but to emphatically engage in the public sphere, to redefine what it means to be a literary citizen.

With an afterword by Valeria Luiselli, Dictionary of the Undoing is a necessary, resounding cri de coeur in defense of language, meaning, and our ability to imagine, describe, and build a better world.

About the Author

John Freeman is the editor of Freeman's, a literary annual of new writing. His books include How to Read a Novelist and The Tyranny of E-mail, as well as Tales of Two Americas, an anthology of new writing about inequality in the U.S. today. Maps, his debut collection of poems, was published in 2017. His work has been translated into more than twenty languages and has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, andThe New York Times. The former editor of Granta and one-time president of the National Book Critics Circle, he is currently Artist-in-Residence at New York University.