When a well-known political figure pens a book, the automatic assumption is that all profits must go to charity. “But why this need to give away writing income at all?” wonders Erica Jong, who suspects the belief has something to do with the way we view writers and writing. “Of all natural resources, it seems, only literary talent needs disinfection, when what it really needs is nourishing.”
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Network Comeback
The hottest shows on American television this fall aren’t reality shows, and they aren’t on HBO, or any other cable network. In fact, they’re good, old-fashioned over-the-air network programming, with emphasis on “good.” As it turns out, the networks that so many critics had all but dismissed as dinosaurs are still capable of drawing an audience, when they actually put a little effort into churning out high-quality programs.
Major Layoffs Planned At Royal Festival Hall
The refurbishment of London’s Royal Festival Hall, which will begin with the hall’s closure next summer, is expected to create 181 so-called “redundant” positions, and fully one-third of the venue’s staff will likely be laid off. The staff will be increased again when the hall reopens in 2007.
Australia’s Arts Policies: Same Old, Same Old
It’s an election year in Australia, and as Prime Minister John Howard struggles to hold his Liberal government majority together, the arts have taken a back seat to more hot-button issues. And despite some serious problems in the country’s orchestral industry, and uncertainty surrounding the future of the National Portrait Gallery, neither the ruling Liberals nor the opposition Labour Party appear to have any new strategies for the arts. In fact, “the arts policies of the major parties appear to cancel each other out rather than break any new ground.”
Congratulations, You Almost Have The Job
A principal dancer with New York City Ballet has been named as the “lead candidate” to become artistic director of Seattle-based Pacific Northwest Ballet. PNB is stressing that 39-year-old Peter Boal does not have the job yet, and will return to Seattle later this fall for another round of meetings with the company’s board members and dancers. Barring any unforeseen hitches in those interviews, Boal is expected to sign a contract by early 2005.
Victoria & Albert Museum Robbed
Thieves smashed a cabinet at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum on Monday, and made off with the nine antique jade objects it contained. The pieces are estimated to be collectively worth over $100,000. The museum has launched an internal investigation into its security.
Those Crazy Nobel Voters
“The annual Nobel Prize in Literature, which is to be awarded in Stockholm on Thursday, assures the happy laureate a gilded place in posterity. Or does it? The Swedish Academy is so eccentric in its choice that the astonished winner often enjoys 15 minutes of fame and is quietly forgotten. No less bizarrely, the academy has overlooked some pillars of modern literature, like Proust and Joyce. Then there are those well-known writers who year after year are considered to be contenders only to be disappointed. This year the word in Stockholm is that it is time for a woman to win again…”
Minor Orchestra, Major Discord
Canada’s Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra made headlines a few months back with a pitched internal battle over a decision to terminate its music director. The orchestra has been trying to put the incident behind it, but much bitterness remains. Three members of the board of directors have resigned in the last month, and the remaining members are still sharply divided, with the minority side pushing for conductor Martin Fischer-Dieskau to be rehired.
Comedy’s Lovable Loser Dies
Comedian Rodney Dangerfield, who built an extremely lucrative film and performing career on a single catchphrase (you know what it is,) has died of complications from heart surgery. Dangerfield’s act was exceedingly personal, and consisted mainly of one-liners at his own expense, delivered with a chuckle and a sad-sack shake of the head. He got his first big break on the Ed Sullivan Show, and acted in more than 20 movies. Dangerfield was 82.
A Troubled Museum Comes Of Age
The Los Angeles museum created by billionaire Armand Hammer to house his personal art collection got off to a terrible start when it opened in 1990. First, Hammer himself died only days after the opening, and lawsuits over the money used to build the museum followed. The organization “limped on with no clear identity, serving chiefly as a venue for staid traveling shows. [But] no more. Today the Armand Hammer, on Wilshire Boulevard in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, is considered one of the city’s hottest cultural attractions, with a keen eye for emerging artistic talent and a busy schedule of ‘destination evenings’ that routinely draw crowds to the museum for readings, concerts and films.”