Is the socially conscious novel a dead genre? Whatever happened to the idea that a book can change the world? Are authors so intent on their own characters that they can’t be bothered to make their plots politically relevant to our increasingly dangerous world? Ray Conlogue is only asking, but modern authors seem increasingly hostile to the notion that they could actually advance political ideas or social agendas with their works of fiction. These days, novelists are perfectly within their rights to spend hours working on behalf of whatever causes they support, but to put the crusade to paper would apparently cross some invisible line of decorum.
Blog
Should FCC Be Allowed To Police Cable?
FCC Chairman Michael Powell is hoping that he can convince Congress to give his commission authority over cable TV networks, as part of an ongoing effort to wipe everything that Powell finds indecent or obscene from the national media landscape. At the moment, the FCC has no power over cable, since such networks do not use the public airwaves and are a subscription-based service available only to those viewers who choose to pay for it. Joanne Ostrow finds Powell’s attempted power-grab alarming: “An activist FCC must not trample the free-speech provisions of the Constitution, even if Powell thinks he is a hero, saving America from itself.”
The Art Of The Expat
“The histories of American writers and composers who went to Paris between the world wars have been examined so frequently that it’s almost unthinkable the same should not have been true for artists. But [a] new exhibition at the Terra Museum of American Art, purports to be the first to examine the phenomenon in all its diversity, and that has made for a complex, often revelatory experience.” American artists drawn to Paris for its comparatively eclectic style and freedom of artistic thought “defined themselves by looking to currents outside their native country even after they returned home, as nearly all of them did.”
Detroit Hires NYC Ballet Exec
“The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has found its new top administrator at the head of the largest ballet company in America. Anne Parsons, 46, general manager of the New York City Ballet, has been hired as the executive director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. The appointment comes at a crucial moment for the DSO, which is coping with a $2.2-million accumulated deficit, searching for a successor to music director Neeme Jarvi and developing a long-range vision for the $60-million Max M. Fisher Music Center, which the orchestra opened to great acclaim in October. The DSO has been without its top administrator since former president and executive director Emil Kang, in the wake of the deficit, resigned in December after 3 1/2 years at the helm.”
Kahane to Colorado
The Colorado Symphony Orchestra has reportedly settled on conductor/pianist Jeffrey Kahane as its next music director, succeeding Marin Alsop. Kahane also heads up the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, recently founded a new music festival in northern California, and is a frequent guest with many major American orchestras. There is no word yet on when his tenure with the CSO will begin.
NJ Symphony Benefactor Flees Country On Tax Charges
“A philanthropist best known for selling millions of dollars worth of musical instruments at a discount to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra has fled to Cuba to avoid tax fraud charges, authorities said Wednesday.”
Never Saw It Coming
With Herbert Axelrod on the lam, New Jersey has lost arguably its most dynamic and generous arts supporter. “People in the arts world were stunned. To tell the truth, they said, they had not seen him in months. And perhaps oddly, considering Axelrod said that he wanted to hear his instruments played in New Jersey, Axelrod and his wife were not current subscribers to the NJSO.”
At Least The Instruments Have Integrity
When news broke of Herbert Axelrod’s shady financial dealings, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra could have been excused for panicking. After all, this alleged criminal had just sold them $18 million worth of supposedly priceless instruments. But NJSO officials say that regardless of Axelrod’s behavior in other areas, the deal that brought the orchestra its collection of Strads, Guarneris, and Amatis was on the up-and-up, and they’ve got the papers to prove it.
Never, Ever, Ever Leave Your Violin In The Car
“A thief recently broke into a car and made off with two 1840s violins owned by musicians in the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. More than two weeks after the April 5 theft, police have not recovered the rare instruments, which are worth tens of thousands of dollars.” The theft was particularly brazen, taking place while the instruments’ owners were less than a block away buying a parking pass for their car.
So You’re A Poet? Better Watch Your Back.
Maybe it’s that poets tend to be such tortured souls. Or maybe the constant battle for public understanding and acceptance is just too much for some. But whatever the reason, a new study makes it perfectly clear: poets die younger than other writers. “On average, a poet had a life-expectancy of only 62… compared to playwrights’ average age 63 years, novelists’ 66 years and non-fiction writers’ 68 years.”