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The cyberdelic extravaganza is online for the first time because of the pandemic. But maybe that’s not as strange as it might seem. By Neil Shister Mr. Shister is the author of “Radical Ritual: How Burning Man Changed the World.” Sept. 3, 2020, 5:00 a.m. ET The Burning Man Multiverse is a constellation of digital platforms created in lieu of the usual desert gathering.
Burning Man, the week-long celebration in the badlands of Nevada that attracts nearly 75,000 attendees annually, concluded in early September. This year’s theme was “metamorphosis,” which was chosen to mark the next stage in the life of Burning Man after the death last year of Larry Harvey, founder and eminence grise of the event. But even before this latest transformation, Burning Man had already transitioned into something radically different from its origins.
Neil Shister is the author of “Radical Ritual: How Burning Man Changed the World” (Counterpoint; 245 pages; $26.00). Photo: Vanessa Franking There are, as the mantra goes, “no spectators” when it comes to Burning Man. The ideas behind the annual social experiment — “the new American holiday,” as Wired magazine called the fire on the playa back in 1996 — belong to everyone who’s ever taken part.
About Neil Shister Neil Shister has been a correspondent with Time, television critic for the Miami Herald, and editor of Atlanta magazine. He's taught at Hampshire College, Boston University, and The George Washington University. He was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Côte d'Ivoire (1968-1970). He lives in Washington, D.C. with wife, Cait, and son, William.
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