“Donald Finkel, a noted American poet whose work teemed with curious juxtapositions, which in their unorthodoxy helped illuminate the function of poetry itself, died on Nov. 15 at his home in St. Louis.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Shutting Philly’s Libraries Means Shutting Out Its Poor
“Philadelphia, which created the nation’s first public-library system, had the good fortune to receive 25 of Carnegie’s libraries. But if Mayor Nutter goes through with his crisis plan to shrink the library system by 11 branches, the city will lose four representatives of its original Carnegie legacy. What will happen to Carnegie’s four temples of knowledge is anyone’s guess.”
Where The Dominoes Fall In The Art Market’s Collapse
“The art market’s crash — for that is what it is — threatens to remake the art world. In the past few weeks, auctioneers, dealers, artists and collectors have changed strategies and policies, and it’s likely that future changes will be even more sweeping. … Here, a look at how the art-market retrenchment will affect its players….”
In Rome, Strike Shuts Some Museums
“Some of Rome’s most visited museums and monuments are staying shut as ticket-booth workers and security guards stage a one-day strike amid fears of job cuts. The city-owned company that manages museums in the Italian capital – Zetema – says the walkout has closed several venues.”
When History Repeats (With Great Box-Office Timing)
“Playwright Michael Yawney spent the last three years crafting a comedy about Anita Bryant’s 1977 campaign to repeal Miami-Dade County’s first gay-rights ordinance. Yawney never expected that on the eve of its world premiere Thursday in Miami, 1,000 Homosexuals would be so relevant.”
Survey: Canadian Orgs Likely To Cancel Shows Abroad
“A survey by the members of the Conférence Internationale des Arts de la Scène (CINARS) suggests that up to 600 out-of-country performances by 36 Canadian arts organizations could be cancelled in the absence of two cultural diplomacy programs and a stalling economy.”
Why Joe The Author & Sarah The Writer Are A Good Thing
“Now I’m no Palin supporter, but I think it’s a good thing that Palin and Wurzelbacher are writing books. Because by choosing to write books, as opposed to becoming talk show hosts, or country singers, Palin and Wurzelbacher are tacitly endorsing two of the things that Blue America loves the most, and which Red America has often disdained: freedom of expression and reading.”
Cornwell Gives Harvard $1M For Art Conservation Science
“Patricia Cornwell, author of the best-selling ‘Scarpetta’ thrillers, will establish a conservation scientist position at Harvard to further close examinations of art materials.” The university’s Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies helped Cornwell with research on her 2002 book, “Portrait of a Killer,” in which she argued that painter Walter Sickert was Jack the Ripper.
National Museum of American History, In A New Light
“When the National Museum of American History reopens on Friday after two years and $85 million of renovation, it may begin to shed its reputation as one of the more cramped and confounding corners of the Smithsonian Institution. … [A] central five-story atrium now streams with daylight, promising other forms of illumination as the visitor heads off to the new or refreshed displays, with others to open in the next few months.”
Baryshnikov Arts Center Buys Its New Theatre
“The Baryshnikov Arts Center has (finally!) officially purchased the 299-seat Jerome Robbins Theater adjacent to the three floors that it owns in the 37 Arts building. The closing was yesterday – thanks in part to $2.5 mil from the Jerome Robbins Foundation, matched by Baryshnikov, the BAC paid in cash!” The Wooster Group will be a resident company in the multidisciplinary space.