The British poet says that “Patricia Smith’s Blood Dazzler teaches me what a book of poetry can look like. In form, heart, focus and humility it’s everything I hope to give to the reader. Smith is the greatest living poet. Every book is better than the last.”
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Blumhouse Dominates The (Scary) Movies, And Now It Wants To Take On TV
Low-budget horror movies have made Blumhouse an awful lot of money. Can its film formula work in a much more crowded TV market? If they do, it won’t be because of jump scares. “Blumhouse executives explained that only 20 percent of the studio’s television projects will be traditional horror fare.”
Why Did Sesame Street, Such A Happy Show, Want To Feature A Grump Like Oscar The Grouch?
It’s all thanks to a cab driver from the Bronx, who drove Muppeteer Carol Spinney to his first meeting with Jim Henson.
This Is What Germans, Watching Brexit, Are Thinking About Great Britain
Whew: “If you act like you are the center of the world, you should actually be the center, or something close to it. As things currently stand, though, the British soon won’t even be within shouting distance of the center of Europe. The United Kingdom is currently demonstrating how a country can make a fool of itself before the eyes of the entire world.”
What’s The Artistic Moment We’re Living Through?
Hysterical surrealism. Heck, there’s a whole subgenre of foreclosure art. And then there are movies like Sorry to Bother You. “The register is manic horror-comedy rather than depressively dystopian. I’ve noticed the same tone in other works, including contemporary poetry about inequality and market ruin.”
The Sociologist-Poet Whose Artistic Career Just Blasted Into The Stratosphere, With A Lift From Marvel Comics
Eve Ewing has had quite the year, with a book of poetry, a play co-authored with Gwendolyn Brooks, and then a new work of sociology coming out this week. But then there’s Marvel. “In August, Dr. Ewing caused minor pandemonium on the internet when she announced that she had been hired to write Ironheart, the first solo title featuring its character Riri Williams, black girl genius from Chicago.”
Finding Ink In (The Ashes Of) Apple Trees
This artist makes ink from the things he finds outside, in the city. That’s right, he’s an ink forager. “Logan doesn’t just focus on nature in his foraging; he also makes ink from the detritus. … He stops suddenly, picks up a rusty nail and puts it in his pocket. Rust, he says, can make yellow, red, orange or black.”
Cynthia Erivo, Getting Closer To That EGOT
The British actor who won the Emmy, Grammy and Tony as Celie in the Broadway revival of A Color Purple is about to be on the big screen in two different movies. “I am not aiming for [the Oscar]. … I’m aiming to do the work well, and if by chance that comes in my direction, I will be welcoming it with open arms.”
The Point Where The Filmmakers Became A Part Of Their Documentary
The makers of Making a Murderer created a second series, but a fair amount of it is about what changed after their documentary series exploded onto Netflix in 2015.
What Robert Glasper’s Monthlong Residency At The Blue Note Means For Jazz
Some candor, some mistakes, some crossover. “As he’s helped to wash away artificial divides between jazz and other contemporary black music, Mr. Glasper has spoken with a casual candor not typical of jazz musicians. ‘If you ever heard Miles Davis talk, I’m no different than Miles,’ Mr. Glasper said, sipping a cocktail in his Blue Note dressing room earlier this month. ‘His freedom in talking about where he is in the music and what he’s trying to do.'”