Author: Matthew Westphal

How Joan Didion Went From Writer To Literary Celebrity

“Although she started to take on more political subjects in the late ’70s, the interest in her personal life – and her personal belongings – only grew. In the crossover of feminism, fashion, and literary interests, there is a whole swathe of the internet where Didion is a staple reference. Her borscht recipe can be found on the website Brain Pickings.”

Jennifer Homans Was Wrong: Ballet’s Not Dying, It’s Being Rejuvenated – And Here’s Why

“It’s an exciting time for the art form, with new works and artists emerging: there is plenty to look forward to. It’s very different to the sense of gloom I remember when I started watching in the Nineties.” Zoë Anderson has a theory about why ballet was in a funk 20 years ago (like so much else in the world, it’s about the ’60s) and why things seem so much more promising today.

The Ten Most Beautiful Movies Of All Time (Not Best, Mind You; Most Beautiful)

Well, really, it’s ten categories of beautiful movie (Chinese historical epic, classic Hollywood black-and-white, Terrence Malick movie, wordless montage of landscapes, Stanley Kubrick film, etc.) and the Cinefix guys’ favorite examples of each type. Plenty to argue about (e.g., Days of Heaven isn’t there, and neither are any of the Qatsi films). (video)

Ireland Gives Brian Friel His Own Theatre Festival

“Details will be announced on Monday for the Lughnasa International Friel Festival which will have, at its heart, a production of one of Friel’s plays presented on both sides of the border in Donegal and Belfast. … The festival will be directed by Séan Doran, who is also in charge of the Samuel Beckett festival, now in its fourth year and due to open next week in Enniskillen.”

Recreating The Weird Instruments For (Arguably) The World’s Weirdest Opera

That would be Harry Partch’s Delusion of the Fury. “For many years there was essentially only one set of instruments” – the ones the composer built himself – “capable of playing Mr. Partch’s largest works, which meant the pieces were rarely performed. But a few years ago Ensemble Musikfabrik, the German contemporary music group, decided to revive … Delusion of the Fury, and turned to Thomas Meixner, a percussionist and instrument maker, to build a new set of Partch instruments.”