“Two different hitters will generally talk the same game, but then one gets in and hits a homer and the other strikes out. (And that hitter is you, the writer, on different days, even.) So: an element of mystery has to pertain—which I really like…this idea of writing as more of a muscular, visceral act, in which the writer brings all that she is to that moment but can’t really explain what happens next.”
Blog
Why Teach The Humanities?
“To put books into English, the vulgar tongue, the language of the masses, was once radical. Teaching literature written in English is a recent innovation, historically speaking, and was long regarded in the more renowned institutions as a lowering of standards. It is still the case in some countries that the work of living writers is excluded from the curriculum, perhaps a sign of lingering prejudice against the vernacular, against what people say and think now, in the always disparaged present. In America this scruple is gone and forgotten. Writers not yet dead, in many cases only emerging, are read and pondered, usually under a rubric of some kind that makes them representative of gender or ethnicity or region, therefore instances of some perspective or trend often of greater interest to the professor than to any of the writers.”
A Legendary Portland Video Store Has Gone Nonprofit – And Won Its Kickstarter Campaign Quickly
In Portland, the video store Movie Madness is a gem: “The labyrinth of aisles arranges some 84,000 films by countries, directors, actors, and genres, which get as specific as Rampaging Teenagers, Childhood Icons Gone Terribly Wrong, and Problems with Rodents.” But the 71-year-old owner wanted to sell, specifically to a nonprofit that runs Portland’s Hollywood Theatre. Then the Kickstarter began.
The Return Of A Stolen Saint Brings Joy, And Highlights Italian Churches’ Security Problems
The country has more than 60,000 churches, and they contain “a treasure trove that includes masterpieces by Titian, Michelangelo and Caravaggio as well as statues and precious artifacts like chalices, candelabra and countless illuminated manuscripts.” Thieves know it, but the faithful, and tourists, want Italian churches to stay open to the public. Now what?
The Re-Inspiration Of A Former Principal Ballerina
Janie Taylor thought she’d finished with performing when she retired from City Ballet. But Benjamin Millepied – and a multifaceted artistic life that includes teaching and costume design, along with, yes, dancing onstage – has her back in the life. A friend says, “Now she gets to decide, ‘I’m gonna feel who I am again. I’m gonna be creative.’ And guess what? Her body feels better.”
Canadian Producer GIlbert Rozon Accused Of Sexual Harassment By At Least Nine Women
The founder of Montreal’s Just for Laughs comedy festival resigned from many posts after “Quebec daily Le Devoir on Thursday published women’s accounts of the circumstances in which they allegedly suffered the actions of Mr. Rozon over the last thirty years. Some accuse him of having raped them.”
The Newseum Is Incredibly Relevant, And Incredibly Underfunded
The Newseum opened a beautiful new building in D.C. at the worst possible time, and its one major funder is having to tighten its budget. “News organizations who were generous supporters at the outset found themselves contending with their own financial challenges. Journalists, who do not have the deep pockets of some professions, were not a particularly bountiful source of money.” Can the Newseum survive?
Five Atlanta Theatres Joined Forces To Fundraise In An Uncertain Economic Climate
Is it working? Yes, but in a different way than they’d hoped – one artistic director says, “It’s really instructive and inspiring to have regular contact with my colleagues, and that’s sharpening our artistic processes and our work” – and without nearly as much money as they’d wanted.
Making Art Out Of Cowhide
South African artist Nandipha Mntambo “started college studying forensic pathology. (As a 10-year-old, she and her family came home after dinner one evening to find their dogs had been killed by a stalker, and she said she believed that was where her interest in death began.) But she soon realized it was not the career for her.”
Wait, Why Are Americans Eligible For The Man Booker Prize, Again?
It makes no sense, says novelist Tibor Fischer, and it hurts British writers. “British writers aren’t eligible for the big American awards. The stipulation that American writers have to be published in the UK doesn’t help much as, by definition, the strongest and most successful American authors are the ones that cross over.”