Disciplines Anthropology Cultural Anthropology American & Canadian

Theater in a Crowded Fire by Lee Gilmore

Theater in a Crowded Fire Ritual and Spirituality at Burning Man

by Lee Gilmore (Author)
June 2010
First Edition
Paperback
$34.95, £30.00 eBook
$34.95, £30.00
Courses
People & Cultures of North America
Title Details

Rights: Available worldwide
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9780520260887
Trim Size: 6 x 9
Illustrations: 8 b/w photographs, 1 line illustration, 7 tables

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About the Book From Our Blog About the Author Reviews Table of Contents Related Books

About the Book

Every summer, thousands gather from around the world in the blistering heat of Nevada’s Black Rock Desert for the seven-day celebration of art, community, and fire known as Burning Man. Culminating in the spectacular incineration of a wooden effigy, this festival is grand-scale theater for self-expression, personal transformation, eclectic spirituality, communal bonding, and cultural renewal. In this engrossing ethnography of the Burning Man phenomenon, Lee Gilmore explores why “burners” come in vast numbers to transform a temporary gathering of strangers into an enduring community. Accompanied by a DVD, which provides panoramic views of events, individuals, artworks, and, of course, the climactic final night, the book delves into the varieties of spirituality, ritual, and performance conducted within the festival space.

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About the Author

Lee Gilmore is a Lecturer in Religious Studies and Anthropology at California State University, Northridge. She is coeditor of After-Burn: Reflections on the Burning Man Festival.

Reviews

“Gimore simply nails it. . . the book is a model of academic writing--intelligent, concise and readable. I’ll recommend this book to anyone who wants a deeper understanding of what the hell they’re doing up there on the desert on Labor Day weekend.”—Reno News & Review

“A valuable piece of original research.”—Vaughan S. Roberts Anglican Theological Review

“A very engaging work.”—Journal Royal Anthro Inst

“Containing rich descriptions of Burning Man, the book provides a clearer image of the ritual and spiritual aspect of the event.”—Beth Dougherty Oxford Journal

“Worthwhile. . . . Honest”—Robert Furey Psycinfo/ Psyccritiques (3)

“Theoretically diverse, the book explores the intersection of religion and spirituality from an innovative angle.”—Beth Dougherty Sociology Of Religion

“I highly recommend Gilmore’s study as an example of complicating the relationship between the secular and the sacred. This book is written in a very accessible and engaging style. . . . It is essential reading for anyone immersed in the study of religion and popular culture.”—Chris Klassen Journal Of Religion And Popular Culture

“A solidly written and well researched piece of scholarship that relates Burning Man to current trends in contemporary alternative rituals and spirituality.”—Douglas Osto Religion

"Gilmore's study brings new voices and experiences to current debates about religion versus spirituality through her richly textured descriptions of the characters, events, and spaces that make up the seemingly strange but culturally significant Burning Man festival. Readers will discover that Burning Man is a wonderful illustration of the dialectic between self and community at the heart of much of American religion today. Gilmore persuades us that those who trivialize this event by seeing it as a huge party, miss the ways in which Burning Man provides an unusual snapshot of diverse forms of American spiritual-seeking."—Sarah Pike, author of Earthly Bodies, Magical Selves: Contemporary Pagans and the Search for Community

"At the generative core of research in ritual studies is a balancing act: on the one hand, involved; on the other, distanced. On the one hand, committed; on the other, critical. On the one hand, attentively rooted in ethnographic details; on the other, broadly theorized. Theater in a Crowded Fire walks that tightrope with remarkable agility."—Ronald L. Grimes, author of Deeply into the Bone