The Arts Council and the Poetry Book Society have named the 20 most exciting young poets in the UK. “More than one-and-a-half million volumes of poetry were sold in Britain last year, yet nine out of every 10 volumes sold are by dead authors.”
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Our Next Poets
A list and profiles of the UK’s Next Generation poets.
BritArt Fire Next To Burgled Warehouse
The London warehouse stuffed with BritArt that went up in flames last week wwas next to another storage building that had been burgled just before the fire, say police. “One of the smaller units where the fire actually began appears to have suffered a burglary, but it is yet to be established if the fire was deliberately started.”
Amazon Gets Into The Movie Business
One of the strengths of Amazon.com has been its ability to track customer demand and preferences and meet them. Now Amazon hopes to use some of the information it generates from its site to help create new products. Like movies, perhaps? “Amazon hopes to not just sell movies but also help Hollywood make them by connecting agents, producers and talent using the same sort of data analysis that helps Amazon sell stuff.”
How Boston Invented The World
Boston has a long tradition of innovation, and some of America’s great inventions have been born there. “There’s a continuous thread, stretching across centuries, of powerful new ideas developed and commercialized in Boston. But that thread is always vibrating, at least faintly, with worry: Will there ever come another idea as big as the last? What new industry will create jobs sufficient to replace those lost as older industries fade? And how does the environment for company-creation here compare with other parts of the country, particularly Silicon Valley?”
Lone Inventor Rides Again
It used to be that great inventions were the product of odd individuals working in home workshops. But sometime in the past century most of the lone inventors moved inside large corporations where they found resources to work with. Now, some are arguing that being inside large corporate structures inhibits true innovation. So how about a return to the lone inventor?…
New Opera, New Tryout
“Even though the operagoing public today seems more open to new works than it has in decades, the repertory in most houses remains overwhelmingly traditional. Major commissions are rare. So even composers with no prior experience are under pressure to come up with an effective work right off the bat.” That’s why New York City Opera’s annual showcase for new operas “provides composers and librettists with an invaluable chance to assess how a work might come across.”
The New Chinese Collectors
“The rise of the Chinese art buyer has been swift and spirited. Five years ago private art collectors on the mainland were virtually unheard of. Now, driven by plenty of money and a patriotic rush to return treasures smuggled away over the centuries, Chinese collectors are bidding here as well as in New York and London.”
It’s Back: That Old Oprah Magic
Oprah’s new book club features classics (dead authors). But her selections are making the bestseller list, and along with them, the translators. “Though Tolstoy is not around to experience the thrill of becoming an overnight sensation, the elation is beginning to sink in for Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, the husband-and-wife team whose translation of that Tolstoy classic love story was selected by Ms. Winfrey as the definitive version for the millions who watch The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
Scottish Opera – At The Mercy Of Consultants
Should Scottish Opera downsize and restructure? To decide, the Scottish government brought in consultants. “Figures from the Scottish Arts Council reveal that earlier this year the body handed a grant for £195,830 to the company’s board to pay for lawyers, management experts and accountants, brought in to advise on a restructuring plan.”