LL x JBW: Michael Ignatieff on Isaiah Berlin (in person at King's Place)
A beacon of liberal philosophy and vigorous defender of individuality, Isaiah Berlin was one of the great public intellectuals. Present at some of the pivotal events of the 20th century, crossing paths with luminaries from Virginia Woolf to Sigmund Freud, and once Vice-President of The London Library, he declined to write an autobiography. Instead, in his final decade he chose to give extensive interviews to Michael Ignatieff. The result was a magisterial biography first published 25 years ago and now updated in a wonderful reissue from Pushkin Press.
The author, academic and former politician returns to Jewish Book Week in conversation with journalist and critic David Herman.
Michael Ignatieff is a writer, historian and former politician. He has taught at Cambridge, Oxford, the University of Toronto and Harvard and is currently university professor at Central European University in Vienna. His books, which have been translated into twelve languages, include Blood and Belonging, Isaiah Berlin, The Needs of Strangers and The Russian Album, all published or forthcoming with Pushkin Press, and On Consolation.
David Herman is a freelance journalist. He has written for the Guardian, the New Statesman, Prospect and Standpoint, among others.
Book Week is the Jewish Literary Foundation's annual celebration of ideas and the power of the written word. London’s longest-running literary festival, it is open to everyone and offers conversations, performances and talks with thinkers from around the world, including actors, artists, authors, broadcasters, comedians, historians, musicians, philosophers, poets, politicians, singers, scientists and so much more. Book Week 24 returns in-person at Kings Place, London, and online from 2-10 March 2024.
This event will take place at Kings Place.
