Patchett isn’t actually alone because her co-owner and staff are still coming in, carefully distanced from each other, to work so they can ship books to all of those desperately wanting new reads while self-quarantining. “I understand now that we’re a part of our community as never before, and that our community is the world. When a friend of mine, stuck in his tiny New York apartment, told me he dreamed of being able to read the new Louise Erdrich book, I made that dream come true. I can solve nothing, I can save no one, but dammit, I can mail Patrick a copy of The Night Watchman.” – The Guardian (UK)
Author: ArtsJournal2
Pandemic Virtual Book Clubs Are Popping Up All Over The Internet
Are books therapeutic? Is reading itself, with the concentration it requires, even possible now? Yes, but make it social. “The experience has been, by turns, surprisingly insightful and predictably frustrating, but above all, it has given me something to look forward to.” – The Atlantic
Bollywood Grinds To A Standstill, Halting Movies And Careers
No, that’s not different from the U.S. or Nigeria, but Bollywood stars, directors, production companies, dancers and everyone else are trying to figure out what to do next. “Given the speculation that the [21-day] lockdown will be extended, producers are already anticipating major changes to the way Bollywood will operate.” – BBC
Bruce Baillie, ‘Essential’ Avant-Garde Bay Area Filmmaker, Has Died At 88
Baillie “personified the Bay Area experimental cinema of the 1960s as an independent filmmaker and consummate 16-millimeter craftsman whose most extraordinary movie is a single panning shot.” – The New York Times
Diane Rodriguez, Longtime Champion Of Theatre Artists Of Color, Has Died At 68
Rodriguez, a writer, actor, and former associate artistic director at Center Theatre Group, died of cancer on Friday. “‘Diane was an incredibly disciplined artist, with equal talent as a writer, director and actor,’ said CTG Artistic Director Michael Ritchie. ‘But she was never more animated than when she was advocating for the work of other artists. The arts community mourns the loss of a leader and advocate for accessibility, inclusion and community.'” – Los Angeles Times
The Show Is Going On
No matter how bad the technology may be, actors gonna act; singers gonna sing; and a theatre-loving public may get some benefit from the many performance livestreams. – BBC
Playing To An Empty Cathedral On Easter
Organists and cantors prepare to play for live streams instead of live services. On the other hand, sometimes that’s a bigger crowd: “Fewer than 600 people would tune in to watch the cathedral’s Sunday Mass streams before the pandemic, said Joe Zwilling, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York — and that number was up to more than 100,000 on Palm Sunday.” – The New York Times
Lincoln Center Has Canceled Everything Through The End Of August
No Lincoln Center Out of Doors, no Mostly Mozart Festival, no summer programming at all. – NPR
Craft Workers Side-Eye The Not So ‘Sanitary’ Conditions On Hollywood Sets
When should Hollywood start up again – and can it fix all of this? “Until now, lackadaisical hygiene has largely been accepted as part of the job. While production was shut down in an effort to slow the virus’ spread, the global pandemic has stirred debate on established cleanliness practices, raising broader questions and concerns about the definition of safe work spaces in Hollywood, particularly among production crews who are often the most exposed.” – Los Angeles Times
Margaret Atwood Says We Are All In The ‘Better Than Nothing’ Era Now
The writer prompted the National Arts Center of Canada to launch virtual book tours for authors with new books out during the pandemic shutdown. Authors are “‘really pinched,’ Atwood said in an interview the day before she launched the authors’ series. ‘People are scrambling around, improvising and trying to get the word out there.'” – The New York Times