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When “Plague” Ceases Being A Metaphor… What To Say?

“Early in the spring-2020 semester, I had planned to say quite a bit about Homer’s figurative use of disease and the literary tradition it initiated. But as we concluded February in exhausted anticipation of spring break, Covid-19 made the artistry of that metaphor abruptly beside the point. It seemed — and still seems — futile to talk about what plague means in the history of human discourse when plague quite literally is the current defining condition of homo sapiens.” – Chronicle of Higher Education

The Problem With Open Letters

“Perhaps because I spend a lot of time listening to people with crazy opinions, I am sympathetic to the view that the only way to live a healthy intellectual life is to expose oneself constantly to weird or detestable opinions. But I never sign petitions or open letters. I told the letter’s organizers that if I have something to say, I will write my own damn letter. Open letters are terrible, and you should never write one or sign one.” – The Atlantic

The Line Between Cancel And Unpopular

There’s a difference between a harassment campaign and suffering the consequences of hateful behaviour. Clearly, we all understand that there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed, a point in which a person should no longer be in a position of power and influence. The problem is that we disagree on where, exactly, that line is. – Forbes

Yes, Enjoy Quibi Schadenfreude And Do Not Feel Guilty

Kate Knibbs: “Occasionally, circumstances arise where someone or something so high and mighty takes such a ludicrous tumble that the pratfall practically begs for a gleeful response, even from the most generous of spirits. Case in point: the disastrous debut of Quibi, a lavishly funded new streaming service that may currently have more jokes made at its expense than loyal subscribers. … [And laughing is] not sinful. In fact, there’s something akin to virtue in recognizing why Quibi deserves a ribbing.” – Wired

Canadian Choreographer, Dance Pioneer Anna Wyman, 92

For much of the 1970s and 1980s the Anna Wyman Dance Theatre was regarded as one of Canada’s foremost modern-dance companies. In 1975 it became the first modern dance troupe to tour Canada and went on to become one of the most travelled companies in North America. It took Canada-made modern dance to India, Southeast Asia, Australia, Europe and Mexico. It made TV specials, appeared in films and headlined at the National Arts Centre. – Vancouver Sun

No Sooner Does ‘The Great Gatsby’ Come Out Of Copyright Than —

— a prequel is hitting the shelves. Fitzgerald’s novel enters the public domain next New Year’s Day, and on January 5 Little, Brown is releasing Michael Farris Smith’s Nick. “The publishers say Nick Carraway will ‘step out of the shadows and into the spotlight’, with the story focusing on his life before his meeting with the enigmatic millionaire Jay Gatsby.” – The Guardian

How A Group Of Students Convinced The Fokine Estate To Get Rid Of The Blackface Moor In ‘Petrouchka’

The character as passed down from the Diaghilev Ballets Russes original is not only painted in outlandish blackface makeup, he is, as Wendy Perron puts it, “mean and aggressive [and] prodigiously stupid.” In the ’90s, the Oakland and then San Francisco Ballets decided to make the character’s face blue (“the Avatar solution”), and both Perron and Michel Fokine’s granddaughter (and Petrouchka rights holder) Isabelle had thought that was an excellent solution. But Perron’s dance history students at Juilliard last semester would not have it: they found the character grotesque, offensive and irredeemable. Perron and the class reached out to Isabelle, and Perron tells us how things came out. – Dance Magazine