“Romanian-born German novelist, essayist and poet Herta Müller has been named winner of the 2009 Nobel prize for literature, praised by the judges for depicting the ‘landscape of the dispossessed’ with ‘the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose’. Müller becomes only the 12th woman to have won the Nobel….”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre Of Taiwan, Explained
“Cloud Gate dancers study t’ai chi, martial arts, meditation and calligraphy – and it shows. They move with the explosive force of martial arts and yet maintain the poise and flow of t’ai chi and the quiet intensity of meditation.”
Nobel Juror: American Authors Are Deserving, Too
“The most prominent member of the Nobel literature prize jury believes the secretive panel has been too ‘Eurocentric’ in picking winners and said Tuesday there are many American writers who would qualify for the coveted award.”
Kindle Goes Global
The international version of the Kindle goes on sale this month. “Until now, the device was only available in the U.S. Amazon.com, which introduced the Kindle in 2007, is trying to extend its dominance in the electronic-reader market to the rest of the world.”
Met Stagehands Object To Canadian-Made Ring Sets
The Metropolitan Opera’s 2010-11 production of the “Ring” cycle, directed by Robert Lepage, “hit a speed bump” when “[t]he stagehands union, Local One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, filed a grievance yesterday against the Met concerning non-union work on the opera’s set.”
In Dallas, Contemporary Forms Trapped In A Time Warp
Architecture isn’t the reason that Dallas’ new performing arts center “feels stuck in something of a time warp.” At fault is the arts district’s “organizing principle — the idea that grouping together institutions for the arts, and recruiting an all-star team of leading architects to design them, remains a viable means of coaxing underdeveloped urban neighborhoods to life.”
The Trouble With The FTC’s New Rules For Bloggers
The Federal Trade Commission sets “an unreasonably low threshold for blog posts to be treated as ads, potentially turning ethical lapses into violations of federal law. Merely receiving review copies of games, gadgets or discs for free — as critics in traditional media routinely do — could bring bloggers under the FTC’s purview.”
With Murals, Boston Combats Graffiti
“From paintings of colorful cultural scenes in Jamaica Plain to a mural of open books along the Neponset River Greenway, public art in Greater Boston has transformed walls that were once targets for taggers and graffiti artists.”
Sheriff: $80 Million Art ‘Theft’ Appears To Be A Scam
“[T]he Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that the Sept. 25 heist appears to be … a scam by one or both of the alleged victims, an aspiring lawyer who once sold puppies and a retired Harvard Medical School professor.” The sheriff’s office said that the alleged victims “had not provided documentation that the paintings existed.”
John Updike Archive Goes To Harvard, His Alma Mater
“The university will announce today that Houghton Library, Harvard’s primary repository for rare books and manuscripts, will house the John Updike Archive, making the library the center for studies on the life and work of the two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and prolific novelist, poet, and critic.”