“Book exports to the United States slid 23.6 per cent between 2002 and 2006, Statistics Canada said yesterday, as the greenback tumbled 26 per cent against the loonie. … Exports of newspapers and other printed material fell in 2006 from a year earlier, and so did films, videos, sound recordings, original art, advertising, architecture and photography.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
In A Cuban Prison, A PEN Award Winner Deteriorates
A seriously ailing Normando Hernandez Gonzalez, 37, has been held since April 2003 in a maximum-security Cuban prison, serving a 25-year sentence for writing articles critical of the state. “In April, PEN announced that Hernandez Gonzalez would receive its 21st annual PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. The $10,000 award honors ‘international literary figures who have been persecuted or imprisoned for exercising or defending the right to freedom of expression.'”
Stratford Star William Hutt Dies At 87
“A man who could command a stage in any country and who chose to make his career in Canada, William Hutt was a formidable presence at The Stratford Festival since its founding in 1953, appearing in myriad roles from Prospero, Lear and Falstaff to Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest. … The stage was his home, and no stages were more familiar to him than those at Stratford where he performed in 130 productions over 39 seasons.”
Rock Novel As Siren Song, Luring Greats To Destruction
“What novelist with a big record collection wouldn’t be excited at the prospect of writing about rock’n’roll life: the internal politics, the heartbreak, the potential for myth-making? Nonetheless, the rock-novel genre contains some of history’s most misguided books. Bad fake music journalism disguised as fiction for people who don’t read fiction? Literary slumming from writers who really should know better? Overexcited fan-boy ramblings? It’s all here.”
Facing Charges, Graffiti Artist Blames Copycats
“Graffiti artist Alan Ket, whose real name is Alain Mariduena, has been criminally charged in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan with various counts including criminal mischief, making graffiti, and possession of graffiti tools. Mr Mariduena, whose work has been displayed in galleries, has pleaded not guilty to all charges and says … that the graffiti was done by copycat artists.”
Hermitage, Iran Close To Cultural Agreement
“The Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg is close to signing a cultural agreement with Iran which will see the Russian institution collaborating with its Iranian counterparts on a series of joint exhibitions. The agreement will also increase scholarly exchange between the two countries.”
At $2.76 Billion, Sotheby’s Sales Are 41 Percent Higher
“Sotheby’s, the world’s No. 2 auction house, sold 41 percent more art in the first half as buyers from the U.S., Russia and Asia flocked to London, according to preliminary figures on Sotheby’s Web site. Sotheby’s first-half art auctions amounted to $2.76 billion, compared with $1.96 billion a year earlier….”
J.T LeRoy Isn’t Real, But “Sarah” Is Good Fiction
Antidote International Films won its lawsuit against J.T. LeRoy creator Laura Albert, but should it have? “The value of the novel, in Antidote’s view, depended not on what was between its covers, but on who the producers thought the author was (and on their belief that the novel derived directly from events in his life). Almost all the press around Albert’s deception … has treated ‘LeRoy’s’ fiction the same way, as something akin to falsified autobiography. That’s a shame, and not just because Sarah is still a good read.”
News Corp. Challenges YouTube With MySpace TV
“MySpace plans to expand its video offerings this week with a new site that combines amateur and professional material. The new pages, available at MySpaceTV.com, will be the first MySpace spinoff accessible to those who don’t register with the main site. But the new site is also intended as a gathering spot for the wide array of videos that get posted to personal profiles and viewed there.”
Paris Opera Embraces A “Gypsy Punk” Production
“Gérard Mortier, the director of the Paris National Opera, was taking a risk when he invited the Serb film director Emir Kusturica to create a new work here. Put simply, Mr. Mortier, who will take over as general manager and artistic director of the New York City Opera in 2009, was also asking a traditionally conservative audience to embrace a so-called Gypsy punk opera…. Well, the gamble appears to have paid off….”