Rachel Donadio: “I was standing in a hushed, pained throng along the Quai d’Orléans of the Ile Saint-Louis facing the back of the basilica, and when I watched the spire fall, I gasped and choked back tears. In this, I was not alone.” – The Atlantic
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Actress Georgia Engel, Known For ‘Mary Tyler Moore Show’ And ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’, Dead At 70
“She could get a laugh on literally every line you gave her,” remembered Raymond‘s creator. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” She received three Emmy nominations for her work on that series and two others for her performance as Georgette, the sweet-but-dim girlfriend of anchorman Ted Baxter, on MTM; she had an extensive stage career as well. – The New York Times
Ellen Reid’s ‘p r i s m’ Wins Pulitzer Prize For Music
“The Pulitzer jury described the winning piece as a ‘bold new operatic work that uses sophisticated vocal writing and striking instrumental timbres to confront difficult subject matter: the effects of sexual and emotional abuse.'” Here, along with sound samples, is a Q&A with the composer and reporter Tom Huizenga. – NPR
Jackie Sibblies Drury’s ‘Fairview’ Wins Pulitzer Prize For Drama
And Vox‘s Constance Grady says the play “made me the most uncomfortable I have ever been inside a theater. In a good way.” – Vox
Aretha Franklin Awarded Special Posthumous Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer board gave the late singer a Special Citation “for her indelible contribution to American music and culture for more than five decades.” She is the first individual woman to receive the Special Citation in its 89-year history. – Detroit Free Press
Carlos Lozada Of Washington Post Wins Pulitzer Prize For Criticism
The Post‘s nonfiction book critic was honored “for his ambitious and innovative essays that range across politics, presidential history, immigrant memories, national security reporting and feminist analysis to probe national dilemmas.” – The Washington Post
Powers’s ‘Overstory’, Stewart’s ‘The New Negro’, Blight’s Frederick Douglass Bio, Griswold’s ‘Amity And Prosperity’ Win Literary Pulitzers
The 2019 Pulitzer Prizes for freestanding books went to The Overstory by Richard Powers (fiction), Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America by Eliza Griswold (general nonfiction), The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke by Jeffrey C. Stewart (biography), Frederick Douglass, Prophet of Freedom by David W. Blight (history), and Be With by Forrest Gander (poetry). – Publishers Weekly
Researcher Claims To Have Discovered Shakespeare’s Home In London
“The place where Shakespeare lived in London gives us a more profound understanding of the inspirations for his work and life. Within a few years of migrating to London from Stratford, he was living in one of the wealthiest parishes in the city, alongside powerful public figures, wealthy international merchants, society doctors and expert musicians.” – The Stage
Why Hollywood’s Writers Are Firing Their Agents En Masse
Short answer: The Writers Guild of America asked them to. Longer answer: The Guild says agency practices have evolved to the detriment of writers and that writers are earning less as agents expand their businesses, creating conflicts of interest. But it’s difficult. Writers depend on agents to work on their behalf and have close relationships with them. – Los Angeles Times
The Singularity Is Complete: Tyshawn Sorey Glues Together Jazz And Classical (And Whatever Else Appeals To Him)
Sorey’s work eludes the pinging radar of genre and style. Is it jazz? New classical music? Composition? Improvisation? Tonal? Atonal? Minimal? Maximal? Each term captures a part of what Sorey does, but far from all of it. At the same time, he is not one of those crossover artists who indiscriminately mash genres together. – The New Yorker