Keeping a Rendezvous

John Berger’s intimate meditations on what is past, passing, and to come

Beginning each essay with an image, Keeping a Rendezvous examines the nature of the artistic encounter. Berger delves into questions of political struggle, the utility of hope, our relationship to images, and the role of art in our lives. By communing with the artists, revolutionaries and thinkers of the past, he shows how looking at art places us in a dialogue with history.

In vivid, tender fragments, the book explores a range of artistic and political themes, including the miners’ strike, the world of J. M. W. Turner, the existential nature of shovelling manure in the countryside, the appealing spontaneity of cinema, and much more. Above all, Keeping a Rendezvous chronicles the relationship between looking and memory, offering us a window into Berger’s courageous imagination. In an era where everything around us begs for attention, these eloquent and insightful essays teach us how to look with intention.