Publishing mogul Felix Dennis is on a crusade for poetry (at least as he defines it). “In his newest chapter, the British multimillionaire is on a crusade to challenge the obscurity of modern poetry, by reclaiming old-fashioned values of rhyme and meter. His flair for marketing, and his bankroll, are giving him unusual success. His first volume of poetry, “A Glass Half Full” got barely any attention from serious reviewers but sold all 10,000 copies printed in Britain.
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Of Illness And Conductors
So James Levine has a medical condition that weakens him. “Before Met fans or administrators panic, some perspective is called for. Although conducting requires mental and physical stamina, the job is hardly limited to those who fit the standard image of the kinetic and charismatic wizard of the podium, like the young Finnish firebrand Esa-Pekka Salonen of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Some of the greatest conducting of the last 100 years was done by aging and physically enfeebled maestros who still inspired orchestras through their insights and uncanny abilities to convey intention with economical hand gestures, facial expressions and sheer presence.”
Big Dig Artifacts Could Be Lost
More than a million artifacts unearthed in Boston’s Big Dig project are in danger of being lost. “The archeology for the Big Dig was probably the largest archeological project ever conducted in Massachusetts. But the actual discoveries — the sites and their contents — were even more significant because, for the most part, they predated the Revolutionary War. The farther back you go in time, the fewer written documents exist to describe what life was like. We really got an intimate look at the lives of many colonists and Native Americans.”
Shakespeare – Washed Up At 40 (400 Years Ago Today)
“So, 400 years ago today Shakespeare turned 40. The theatre is not kind to ageing talent. Contrasting his own autumnal face with the cruel energy of spring, middle-aged Shakespeare must have wondered whether he had passed his prime. In fact, he had. Shakespeare at 40 was already, like the Julian calendar, conspicuously behind the times.”
Burlesque Is Back
“In New York, and other US cities, burlesque is back. The riotous form of musical striptease is sweeping nightspots, becoming the latest trend in entertainment. The craze is dubbed ‘New Burlesque’, but the ample flesh on display is just the same.”
Audience Attacks Performers, Tries To Burn Down Theatre
In Madrid, “the final night of a Spanish play entitled In God We Shit was in jeopardy yesterday after a week of controversy culminated in attacks on the performers and an attempt to burn down the theatre in the middle of the performance.”
That Sondheim Bounce That Matters
Maybe it was predictable – Stephen Sondheim’s “Bounce” wasn’t a hit when it first played last year. “Though Bounce closed in Washington last fall with an air of failure, any show with a name as big as Sondheim’s on it will have the shortest of stints in musical-theater purgatory. It’s part of a death-and-transfiguration cycle that has been going on at least since the mid-1950s, when the Leonard Bernstein musical Candide went down like a rock, but whose original cast album became a classic that continues to inspire increasingly successful revisions. Failure? Success? Not for nothing is show biz mythology full of “Springtime for Hitler” instances in which failure and success are mere matters of perception that change from moment to moment.”
Casting For Arts Support In Silicon Valley
When philanthropists in Silicon Valley give money to charitable organizations, it’s not usually to arts and culture. That’s a problem when you’re trying to build an arts community. “Strong participation by business executives is a prerequisite for generating more money for the arts. But the issue is sensitive, because it’s tied to the notion that the valley’s corporate leaders often have neglected or undervalued an arts community that is vital to a region’s quality of life.”
Artists: We Struggled Under Saddam
What was it like to be an artist in Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s regime? “The situation for artists was not good. There was the prohibitive cost of materials and the problem of being blocked off from the outside world, Saddam stopped all government support for art facilities and was interested only in having thousands of portraits of himself made, for which artists were well paid. Although Iraqi art survived underground, State-sanctioned art in Iraq was dying and the galleries were full of works on sale to foreigners at cheap prices.”
How Do We Sort Out Violence For Entertainment And Violence For Horror?
“Rarely has the dissonance between the news and popular entertainment been so striking. One can react only with horror as Iraq descends into a chaotic bloodbath, Israel continues to be engulfed in a sickening cycle of revenge upon revenge and terrorism spreads to other countries. Some ABC-TV stations refused to carry Ted Koppel reading the names of killed American soldiers on Friday’s “Nightline.” Yet week after week we’re offered supposedly cathartic stories of devastated families and bloodthirsty vengeance to consume.”