“Some people see British poet Ira Lightman as a champion of poets whose verse is being shamelessly ripped off. Others view him as a blowhard who delights in ruining other people’s reputations. … Does Ira valiantly defend the original words and ideas of struggling poets? Or is his sleuthing just a way to feed his need for schadenfreude? In this episode of [The World in Words], Leo [Hornak] and Nina [Porzucki] do a little sleuthing of their own.” (podcast)
Author: Matthew Westphal
Why Plagiarists Plagiarize
Kevin Young analyzes two notorious cases of text theft: Harvard undergrad Kaavya Viswanathan, whose How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life got national press before it was published and even more publicity after reporters and writers discovered that it was almost entirely pastiche, and Adam Wheeler, who plagiarized his way into and through Harvard, nearly got a Rhodes Scholarship and Stanford admission with stolen material, and used so much fake material on his resumes that he ended up in jail for fraud.
Carole Shelley, Tony-Winning Actress, Dead At 79
The current generation of Broadway fans probably remembers her as the original Madame Morrible in Wicked, but she won her Tony for playing Madge Kendal opposite Philip Anglim in the original Broadway run (1979) of The Elephant Man. She’s also remembered, by an earlier generation, as one of the Pigeon sisters in the original stage and screen versions of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple.
Seattle Opera General Director To Leave For Welsh National Opera
Aidan Lang, who succeeded longtime general director Speight Jenkins in 2015, will complete the coming season before heading to Cardiff. In his tenure so far, he has seen Seattle Opera’s mainstage attendance increase by 27% and launched a new series of contemporary chamber operas, many linked to current social issues.
San Antonio Requires All Funded Arts Orgs To Do Data Analysis
“San Antonio nonprofit arts organizations that receive City funding have been tasked with using a data analysis tool to help measure their overall effectiveness in marketing, staffing, fundraising, and other aspects of management. By Sept. 30, just before the City’s new fiscal year begins Oct. 1, each of 47 arts agencies will have submitted data on their operations and use of public funding.”
North America’s Largest Fringe Festival Breaks Box Office Record
“Lovers of drama, comedy and green onion cakes flocked to the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival in record numbers this year. … Patrons purchased a record 133,276 tickets to more than 1,600 shows, generating $1.46 million in box office revenue, an increase of 10 per cent from last year.”
‘We Wanted To Be The HBO Of Opera’: Opera Philadelphia Changes The Model
Company general director David Devan, on the O17 and O18 festivals devoted to new work as well as about changes to regular-season programming: “Our industry is hanging on by a thread to models that were created in the ’50s-’70s. A subscription model focused on excellent performance in the traditional repertoire … This would be like ignoring the streaming movement and sticking to network television. We wanted to be the HBO of opera.”
DC’S Shakespeare Theatre Company Finds Its Next Artistic Director
“[The STC] has reached across the Atlantic and tapped British director Simon Godwin as its new artistic director effective next August, signaling a commitment to large-scale classics on its two downtown Washington stages.”
Judge Roy Moore Sues Sacha Baron Cohen For $95M Over ‘Who Is America? Segment
“The horse-ridin’, pistol-packin’, Donald Trump-backed conservative had signed a release before meeting for the show with Baron Cohen, who was posing as an Israeli anti-terrorism expert. But the suit filed today in D.C. District Court (read it here) claims that the release Moore signed ‘was obtained through fraud’ and therefore is ‘void and inoperative.'”
This Lawsuit Explains Why Chase Finlay Suddenly Quit New York City Ballet Last Week
“The complaint was filed on behalf of Alexandra Waterbury, against NYC Ballet and her former boyfriend Chase Finlay, and alleges … [that a] ‘fraternity-like atmosphere’ … led [him] to share naked pictures and videos of her in intimate situations with fellow dancers, NYC Ballet employees and donors.”