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<address> <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/">https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/</a></address>
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<p class="post-date">APRIL 14, 2020</p>
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<h6>Like so many nonprofits and literary communities, many of LARB’s
fundraising sources have been upended. In order to continue
providing free coverage of the best in writing and thought, we are
relying on your support now more than ever.</h6>
<h6 style="text-align: left;"><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.kindful.com/?campaign=1063140">Donate
$1 or more, and receive <em>The Quarantine Files</em> as an
ePub or PDF, right in your mailbox. </a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.kindful.com/?campaign=1063140"><br>
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<h6 style="text-align: center;">¤</h6>
<h4>Introduction by Brad Evans</h4>
<p>THREE WEEKS AGO, I was sitting in front of my computer at home
trying to finish an essay on educating children. But I was unable
to concentrate. A broadcaster with a notably concerned expression
was reporting on the spread of the coronavirus, which was now
advancing across mainland Europe. It was no longer a “Chinese
problem,” which many had hoped to keep at a “safe distance.” Its
effects were becoming a global issue. As the days passed, any
concept of time I had was replaced by the rising tide of casualty
statistics. I watched as the anxiety and concern spread almost as
quickly as the virus itself.</p>
<p>I kept thinking about “domino” and “butterfly” “effects” and how
radically interconnected we truly were. Admittedly ignorant to the
science, I needed to find out more, but the “news” was no comfort.
As nations started falling victim one by one to the virus, we all
started coming to terms with the vocabulary of “lockdown,”
“isolation,” and “quarantine.” Some undoubtedly responded in a
more humane way than others.</p>
<p>Like many authors, I wanted to say something, partly I now see
for my own sanity, but didn’t know where to begin. I just knew
that I was becoming increasingly concerned, not only for the
welfare of others, but of my loved ones, family, friends, and
companions alike. Writing has always been my therapy to the
horrors of the world. And I still maintain there is no better
reason to write or express — in any medium — than to feel the
world’s beauty and pain. But was it all simply too close or too
reactionary?</p>
<p>There certainly was no shortage of reflections being offered.
Everyone is now an expert, it seems, and yet never have we felt
more in the dark about outcomes — even the most basic, questioning
whether there will be enough food to go around. But I couldn’t
find the words to do justice to this unfolding tragedy, except to
repeat the warnings from history and the need to be vigilant to
its political effects. I now see my inertia was revealing of a
deeper fear and a sense of foreboding: that of being alone,
writing alone.</p>
<p>When proposing this edition to the editorial team at the <em>Los
Angeles Review of Books</em>, I therefore had the simple
intuition there were probably others who wanted to respond, but
also not simply <em>in</em> isolation. What I have also
discovered is that they too had doubts. Some initially committed
and then withdrew for reasons all too understandable. What was the
point of saying anything right now? Should we not spend more time
reflecting on the significance? Might we not simply reaffirm our
own privileged positions? Worse still, might our interventions
come across as parasitic to the virus?</p>
<p>Following supportive discussions with my loving wife and the
editorial team, I set about to bring together a small group of
critical thinkers, artists, and poets who could all in their own
way share their thoughts and concerns. My intention was not to
create some unified voice, resilience style help-guide, or
mini-manual for political survival. It was to invite responses
from authors who might reveal their own unique tensions, fears,
and even doubts about the types of interventions the world needs
right now.</p>
<p>Despite the reservations, I don’t think I’ve ever been more
humbled by the responses and the trust the contributors to this
curated volume have shown in these desperate times.</p>
<p>I do hope these contributions help spark conversations on how we
move forward, which will no doubt continue in the years to come.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">¤</p>
<ol>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn1"
name="_ftnref1"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn1"
name="_ftnref1">Kehinde Andrews</a>: “The Other Pandemic”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn2"
name="_ftnref2"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn2"
name="_ftnref2">Lauren Berlant</a>: “In the morning I yell”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn3"
name="_ftnref3"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn3"
name="_ftnref3">Russell Brand</a>: “All I need is the air that
I breathe (And to love you)”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn4"
name="_ftnref4"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn4"
name="_ftnref4">Wendy Brown</a>: “From Exposure to
Manifestation”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn5"
name="_ftnref5"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn5"
name="_ftnref5">Jake Chapman</a>: “Four Weddings and a Mass
Grave”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn6"
name="_ftnref6"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn6"
name="_ftnref6">Simon Critchley</a>: “Sorry to Disappoint (I
knew I should have been a hairdresser)”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn7"
name="_ftnref7"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn7"
name="_ftnref7">Camille Dungy</a>: “Winter: Past is Prelude”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn8"
name="_ftnref8"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn8"
name="_ftnref8">Cynthia Enloe</a>: “Pulling my COVID-19
language out of the trenches”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn9"
name="_ftnref9"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn9"
name="_ftnref9">Roberto Esposito</a>: “Instituting Life”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn10"
name="_ftnref10"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn10"
name="_ftnref10">Brad Evans</a>: “The Love Leviathan”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn11"
name="_ftnref11"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn11"
name="_ftnref11">Simona Forti</a>: “Pan-demic: All
people-in-one or pandemonium?”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn12"
name="_ftnref12"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn12"
name="_ftnref12">Henry A. Giroux</a>: “The Plague of
Neoliberalism and the Politics of Pandemics”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn13"
name="_ftnref13"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn13"
name="_ftnref13">David Theo Goldberg</a>: “Tracking Capitalism
and COVID-19”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn14"
name="_ftnref14"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn14"
name="_ftnref14">Jack Halberstam</a>: “Frantic”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn15"
name="_ftnref15"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn15"
name="_ftnref15">Saidiya Hartman</a>: “The Death Toll”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn16"
name="_ftnref16"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn16"
name="_ftnref16">Brian Massumi</a>: “The American Virus”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn17"
name="_ftnref17"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn17"
name="_ftnref17">Todd May</a>: “This is Not the Time for
Theory”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn18"
name="_ftnref18"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn18"
name="_ftnref18">Chantal Meza</a>: “Viral Ecologies: A Litany
for Our Times”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn19"
name="_ftnref19"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn19"
name="_ftnref19">Nicholas Mirzoeff</a>: “Notes from the
Necropolis”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn20"
name="_ftnref20"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn20"
name="_ftnref20">Adrian Parr</a>: “Crisis”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn21"
name="_ftnref21"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn21"
name="_ftnref21">Julian Reid</a>: “Our Big War”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn22"
name="_ftnref22"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn22"
name="_ftnref22">Eugene Thacker</a>: “Pathological Life”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn23"
name="_ftnref23"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn23"
name="_ftnref23">McKenzie Wark</a>: “She’s Not There”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn24"
name="_ftnref24"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn24"
name="_ftnref24">Eyal Weizman</a>: “Surveilling the Virus”</li>
<li><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn25"
name="_ftnref25"></a><a
href="https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/quarantine-files-thinkers-self-isolation/#_ftn25"
name="_ftnref20">George Yancy</a>: “Bodies Without Edges:
Rethinking Borders of Invulnerability”</li>
</ol>
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<p>[...]<br>
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