The Swells
"Excellent ... the dizzying heights of Japanese pop culture are beautifully presented, and so intrinsically surreal that the very distinction between real and surreal blurs." ― Montreal Review of Books
PRAISE FOR WILL AITKEN AND ANTIGONE UNDONE
Finalist, Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Non-Fiction
"For author Will Aitken, the classics are very much alive. His Antigone Undone is about what happens to us when supposedly dusty works of art don't just resonate but skewer us straight through. By the end of his brief, brilliant book, Aitken himself is nearly undone ― and Antigone emerges as a 2,500-year-old juggernaut more mysterious and magnetic than before." ― 2018 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction Jury
"Aitken's inspiring autobiographical odyssey, which centers on Sophocles's Antigone, translated by Anne Carson, is a testimony to the power of art. He champions a way of making and seeing the arts that heightens their relevance and brings Sophocles's 2,500-year-old play into readers' contemporary lives and World." ― Publishers Weekly
"This is a work of brilliance and intimacy. Will Aitken shows us up close what happens when some of the most ingenious and learned minds working in the performance arts immerse themselves in a masterpiece of the Greek stage. The result is raw, intellectually engaging, and exhilarating." ― Sarah Nooter, author of The Mortal Voice in the Tragedies of Aeschylus
"This thoughtful and disturbing memoir poignantly illustrates how, for good or ill, the power of art can transform human understanding." ― Laurel Smith, Quill & Quire
"From my perspective as a Cree, Antigone represents the voice of our women and Creon is colonialism. Antigone Undone forces us to look at ourselves, a timeless challenge speaking to everyone, in all eras." ― Floyd Favel Starr, playwright
"Not for people who can resist being shattered." ― Laurie Anderson, artist