Author: Matthew Westphal

Chaucer Was A Remainer — A Poet Of Europe, Not Just England

“Chaucer was able to transform English poetry the way he did precisely because of his internationalism, not his nationalism. Like all educated men of his day, he was multilingual. He devoured late-antique philosophy, Latin translations of Arabic scientific treatises, and French love poems. His unusually good knowledge of Italian – and his travels to Italy – allowed him to access the latest poetry of Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarch. Indeed, Chaucer’s very fascination with vernacularity was a European phenomenon: Dante and Boccaccio’s championing of Tuscan vernacular inspired Chaucer to see what he could do with his own.” – Aeon

‘The Joe Rogan Experience ‘, The Bizarro ‘Fresh Air’ Of The Intellectual Dark Web

Justin Peters: “Listening to the show is sort of like crashing an intense, intimate dinner party in which the only courses are whiskey and weed. … The Joe Rogan Experience has become one of the internet’s foremost vectors for anti-wokeness. With its mellow, welcoming vibe, its pretense of common sense, and its general reluctance to push back on any of its guests’ ideas save for only the battiest, the podcast has become the factory where red pills get sugarcoated. So how did Rogan — the Fear Factor guy! — become the Larry King of the Intellectual Dark Web? Don’t ask him.” – Slate

Google Doodle For Bach’s Birthday Uses AI To (Try To) Compose Bach-Like Chorales

The little Bach-bot “promises to take any two-bar melody you type in and turn it into a Bach, or Bachlike, chorale in four parts, played by charming little music-box figures of bewigged 18th-century musicians.” Yet, writes Anne Midgette, “it may only add to the doodle’s charm that what it actually proves is the opposite of what it sets out to do.” – The Washington Post

Mayor Of London Releases Seven-Point ‘Cultural Infrastructure Plan’

“The Cultural Infrastructure Plan sets out … why it’s important to support the capital’s venues and studios; how they are at risk; what can be done to protect them; and what resources the Mayor’s office is investing. The document covers the buildings, structures and places where culture is both consumed (defined as experiencing, participating in or showcasing art) and produced (where creative work is made, usually by artists).” – Arts Professional

Pueblo Indian Dance, And Why White Women Tried To Ban It

“In the early 1920s, a secret file scandalized white women reformers in the United States. It was known as the Secret Dance File, its contents too shocking (and titillating) to print or even send in the mail. … The file contained frank descriptions of Pueblo dances that depicted and parodied sexual acts … [and] it made a case for banning [those] ceremonial dances on the grounds that they were immoral and performed only for pleasure.” – JSTOR Daily

The Hague To Get Another International Court, This One For Art Disputes

“The first tribunal devoted exclusively to art disputes, the Court of Arbitration for Art (CAfA), will open for business 1 April in the Hague. … Instead of judges unfamiliar with evaluating scientific evidence of authenticity or selling an artwork on a handshake and an invoice, CAfA’s arbitrators will be experienced art lawyers who understand expert evidence and market practice. … CAfA will hear disputes ranging from authenticity and fraud to contract and copyright, and proceedings can occur anywhere.” – The Art Newspaper

Actor Playing Lead In ‘The Color Purple’ Fired For Old Anti-Gay Facebook Post

Oluwaseyi Omooba, who had been cast as Celie, a queer character, in the revival by the Curve Theatre in Leicester and the Birmingham Hippodrome in England, wrote on the social media site five years ago, “I do not believe you can be born gay and I do not believe homosexuality is right, though the law of this land has made it legal doesn’t mean it’s right.” – The Guardian

Conductor Thomas Wilkins Works To Get Composers Of Color Into Boston Symphony’s Repertoire (And Into The Canon)

Wilkins, the BSO’s conductor for young people’s and family concerts, makes his subscription-season debut this weekend with a program of music by Florence Price, Adolphus Hailstork, Roberto Sierra, and Duke Ellington. Wilkins is aware of the charge of tokenism: “The easy observation would be to say that this is just a night of box-checking so that we can move on. In reality, it is not. It is, in fact, a launch. … And you know what? You gotta start somewhere.” – The Boston Globe

Tate Galleries Will Accept No More Donations From Sacklers

Just a couple of days after the National Portrait Gallery in London announced that it was turning down £1 million from the family whose company makes OxyContin, the Tate announced that, while it would not remove the Sackler name from any existing gifts, “in the present circumstances we do not think it right to seek or accept further donations from the Sacklers.” – The Art Newspaper