Author: Grafton Tanner

Read The Wall Street Journal‘s review of Grafton’s latest book, Foreverism, here.

Grafton’s latest book, Foreverism, was called “elegantly concise” in The Australian. Read the review here.

The Digital Void podcast spoke with Grafton about his latest book, Foreverism. Take a listen here.

Grafton wrote an article for Jacobin about retrobait, the term he coined to describe nostalgic memes that go viral on social media. Check out the article here.

Grafton participated in a debate about the politics of politeness at the HowTheLightGetsIn Festival in Wales in May. Check out “Manners Maketh Man” over at IAI TV.

Grafton is pleased to announce his fourth book, Foreverism, will be published November 17, 2023 (UK) and January 23, 2024 (US) with Polity Books.

What do cinematic “universes,” cloud archiving, and voice cloning have in common? They’re in the business of foreverizing – the process of revitalizing things that have degraded, failed, or disappeared so that they can remain active in the present. To foreverize something is to reanimate it, to enclose and protect it from time and the elements, and to eradicate the feeling of nostalgia that accompanies loss.

In a culture anxious about nostalgia, things are considered failures if they don’t last forever, or if they’re expected not to last. Foreverizing is a bulwark against instability, but it isn’t an infallible enterprise. That which is promised to last forever often does not, and that which is disposed of can sometimes last disturbingly forever.

In this groundbreaking book, American philosopher Grafton Tanner develops his theory of foreverism: an anti-nostalgic discourse that promises growth without change and life without loss. Engaging with pressing issues, from the ecological impact of data storage to the rise of reboot culture, Tanner tracks the implications of a society averse to nostalgia and reveals the new weapons we have for eliminating it.

François J. Bonnet, author of After Death, calls Foreverism an “enlightening and inspiring contribution. A most welcome text to sharpen our vigilance in a world that has become amnesiac.” 

Pre-order it here, from your local bookstore, or from the everything store.

Grafton chatted with photographer and author Johny Pitts about nostalgia’s role in shaping policies, igniting zeitgeists, and filtering perceptions. Read their conversation over at Public Books.

Grafton discussed nostalgia, memory, and power as a guest on Mel Hogan’s podcast, The Data Fix. Take a listen here, or on your podcast platform of choice.

Grafton will be giving several talks at the HowTheLightGetsIn Festival in Hay-on-Wye May 26-29. Full program details, including Grafton’s appearances that weekend and links to purchase tickets, can be found here.

Les hores han perdut el rellotge: Les politiques de la nostalgia is now available with Tigre de Paper. Translated by Miquel Sorribas, the book features a prologue by Oriol Rosell. You can order it here.