One book survey found that the average number of pages had increased from 320 to 400 pages between 1999 and 2014. Some think that the shift to digital formats has contributed, not least in removing the fear of being crushed beneath your duvet by your bedtime reading. Val McDermid, another of the judges, cited the inexperience of editors; commercial pressures which deny them the time they need to spend on books; and the unwillingness of writers to listen.
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The Woman Who Rescued Ballet British Columbia
When she sits down to talk, Emily Molnar begins by remembering one of her first acts as Ballet BC’s artistic director: brainstorming with the dancers about how to go forward with a shared vision. It was a bold way to launch the changing of the guard—one that stressed values of trust, support, and collaboration. The fact that it took place in a boardroom, instead of sprawled on the floor in the more familiar studio environment, was significant. It meant they sat as equals around a table, where the baggage of ballet hierarchy—in which dancers have traditionally not been encouraged to speak up—could be more easily left behind.
Minority Report: The People Who Don’t Like “Hamilton”
“I am not at all shy about how much personally I love it as a show. But for me, understanding what’s problematic about it helps me appreciate it more and helps me understand more what is possible.”
Remembering The Cultural Pied Piper Of Detroit
David DiChiera belongs on the Mount Rushmore of contemporary Detroit. With his beloved city at its nadir in the 1970s and ’80s, he dared to imagine a future that was audaciously optimistic and inextricably linked to the arts and downtown Detroit. He promised to build an opera house and a major opera company from scratch in a city better known for producing Chevys than “Carmens.” Most people thought he was nuts. But then he accomplished everything he said he would do.
Is The First 100-Year-Old Human Alive Now?
Rather than potentially wiping out humanity, as some high profile futurists like Elon Musk have warned is a possibility, A.I. could increase our lifespan tenfold.
How The LA Philharmonic Became A Player
How the LA Phil became the envy of classical music may be what everyone wants to know. It’s maybe even more useful, though, to ask why as well. The story of the LA Phil feat is ultimately about a reason for being. Every great orchestra has had its heydays when it has been uniquely true to its place and population and purpose and art and era.
The Filmmaker Nominated For This Year’s Turner Prize
Naeem Mohaiemen has two films in this year’s big art prize. He says, “I wanted to take the documentary form and jar it slightly. There’s an unmooring. I want people to figure it out by themselves, but it’s OK if they don’t.”
How Does It Work For An Author Take On A Dead Author’s Beloved Characters And Series?
First, the author’s heirs have to want that – and they have to pick the new author carefully. (Often they do want it because, well, money.) One author got good advice from a friend: “He said, ‘Reed, I’m a huge Elvis fan and I’ve seen the greatest Elvis impersonators in the world. And sadly, there’s two things they cannot escape. First, no matter how good their act, I always know it’s not really Elvis. Second, they can never do anything new.'”
Graffiti In Wales Told This Photographer To ‘Go Home,’ So He Walked Back To Poland
Michael Iwanowski walked 1200 miles in as straight a line as he could from Cardiff, where he lives, to his home village, Mokrzeszów, in Poland. He documented the journey on Instagram, of course. What did he find? “My experience was so overwhelmingly positive that it has made me question everything I read in the media about the hardening of attitudes that Brexit has supposedly provoked.”
The Choreographer Shaking Things Up (In A Good Way) At City Ballet
Kyle Abraham feels like a ballet outsider – after all, he’s known for his work in modern dance. But he also feels the pressure of representation: “He is the first black artist in more than a decade to create a new work for the company, and just the seventh in its 70-year history. (In a repertory with more than 400 ballets, just 10 are credited or co-credited to black choreographers.)”