The community-minded Celeste Ng found wide success with her 2014 debut Everything I Never Told You, and absolutely wild success with Little Fires Everywhere, her novel of race, class, and adoption in an idealistic suburb. Her fans – and broadcast adapters – include Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington. Her focus is on lifting others with her: “Ng’s strategic benevolence is aimed at promoting her peers, of course, but also at fixing skewed, reductive notions of representation.” – The New York Times
Author: ArtsJournal2
A Renaissance For Aphorisms
The golden age of the aphorism came a century ago, but it’s been revived in recent years, perhaps as a reaction to Pinterest and its inane sayings ensconced in something pretty. The aphorism is different: “The form skips nimbly between these things. It doesn’t commit.” – The Guardian (UK)
Audrey Geisel, The Keeper Of Dr. Seuss’ Flame, Has Died At 97
Geisel, the widow of Theodor Geisel and a fierce protector and advocate for his estate, died on Wednesday. “Ms. Geisel, a petite woman of boundless energy, would hold court each morning with aides at a hotel restaurant in San Diego, The Associated Press reported, arriving in a 1984 Cadillac with a license plate that said GRINCH.” – The New York Times
Not To Go All ‘Black Panther,’ But Is The British Museum Ever Going To Return Its Loot?
Nigeria, among others, would really like to know. “In 1897, British troops stole some 4,000 sculptures after invading the Kingdom of Benin (now southwestern Nigeria). Over a century later, surviving bronzes are on display at museums in the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria and the United States, but not in Nigeria, their country of origin.” – History
Who’s Going To Sing The King’s College Solo On Christmas?
No one knows until – get this – until the broadcast starts. So if you’re a choirboy, you’d best be ready. – BBC
The True Winner Of This Truly Great Movie Year Was Netflix
Of course it was. That’s long been the plan – and 2018 was the year it finally went into effect. – The Guardian (UK)
Technology Advances – And Architectural Choices – Lie Behind Modern Partiers’ Obsession With The Kitchen
A century ago, kitchens smelled terrible, and no one at parties would want to be caught dead socializing with the servants in the land of inefficient refrigeration and terrible cleaning agents, not to mention the plumbing. Now, things are different. – NPR
Sydney Symphony Gives Back A Million-Dollar Grant
Why? Because the money was stripped from smaller arts organizations in New South Wales, and the SSO wasn’t into that, despite needing the money for relocation during renovation. – Sydney Morning Herald
The Brand Hellscape That Is An Ice Cream (Or Avocado) ‘Museum’
Just because you can Instagram something doesn’t make it a museum. “We go to museums to see our humanity reflected back at us; at the very least, what we expect when we visit one is a bit of cultural centering, some provocation, and intellectual inquiry.” – Eater
Please, People, Stop Trying To Make ‘Pride And Prejudice’ A Christmas Story
True, there are six mentions of the word “Christmas” in the original novel. “Lest you get carried away by that number six, though, you should know that Austen’s Mansfield Park (1814) drops the word ‘Easter’ twelve times. Still, no one suggests we should add bunnies and plastic eggs to its next TV movie version.” – Literary Hub