In the Aftermath: Provocations and Laments

From the prolific, poetic, and popular pen of David Bentley Hart comes this collection of essays, reviews, and columns published in popular journals and newspapers over the past few years. In the Aftermath is comprised of observations on culture, religion, and society at large, all in the acrobatic prose readers expect from Hart. Here I want - at least, in part - to entertain. This is not to say that the pieces gathered here are not serious in their arguments; quite the contrary. . . . I mean only that, in these articles, I have given my natural inclinations towards satire and towards wantonly profligate turns of phrase far freer rein than academic writing permits. I hope the better part of my readers will not find these aspects of my authorial voice insufferable; I even hope they will take some pleasure in my prose (though perhaps that is most likely only if it is taken in measured doses). I have, at any rate, attempted to include only pieces that strike me as having some intrinsic interest, both in form and in content. - David Bentley Hart (from the introduction)