The confluence of these explosive books, in the months leading up to the 2020 election, has made Simon & Schuster the current front-runner in an ongoing race among publishers to produce news-making titles about the Trump administration. It’s a lucrative business to be in right now. – The New York Times
Blog
Maybe Now Is The Time To Reconsider Rousseau’s Radical Education Idea
Rather than stuffing children full of moral precepts and academic knowledge, the aim was to work with the grain of the pupil’s innate capacities and desires. Rousseau was one of the first proponents of the Romantic belief in the nobility of childhood, its freedom from adult corruption and closeness to the state of nature. – Aeon
Actor Ian Holm, 88
On stage, he enjoyed a dazzling early period and triumphant later years, most especially in Shakespeare and Pinter; but, if there was a prolonged period when Holm was absent from the theatre, it was because he suffered a temporarily paralysing form of stage fright. The theatre’s loss, however, was the cinema’s gain. He transferred the vocal precision, technical skill and impish mischief he had displayed on stage to the screen, enjoying a new, late-flowering career in scores of movies including, most notably, the Lord of the Rings cycle. – The Guardian
For What Do We Need Nations?
Over the centuries nationalism has swung back and forth as a progressive and retrograde force, depending on historical conditions. In revolutionary France the “nation” started as a wrecking ball against feudalism and the church. Before the “nation” became defined by its limit of concern, it appeared to the Old Regime as terrifying in its limitlessness. Before the “nation” could be for anyone it had to be against specific someones: kings, priests and their enablers. Nationalism became a forest fire of fraternity that Napoleon wanted to control-burn through Europe in order to make fertile ground for the imposition of his uniform Code. – The Point
Why Per-Article Micropayments For Journalism Just Will Not Catch On
“Publishers can be accused of being slow to wake up to the internet, but they’re not that slow, nor that likely to leave money on the table. But there is, it turns out, a long list of reasons you can’t pay for journalism by the article.” James Ball explains the logic and the arithmetic. – Columbia Journalism Review
American Theatre Magazine Shuts Its Print Edition Through The Rest Of The Year
For the first time in its 36-year history, we at American Theatre have made the difficult decision to forgo printing and mailing hard-copy issues of the magazine for the next six months, or the remainder of 2020. – American Theatre
Composer Frederick C. Tillis, Who Excelled In Jazz And Classical Alike, Dead At 90
A precocious talent who began playing in Texas jazz clubs at age 12 and continued to perform for most of his life, he spent many years teaching theory and composition at UMass-Amherst and wrote more than 100 scores as well as 15 volumes of poetry and the influential textbook Jazz Theory and Improvisation. – The New York Times
COVID Risks For Wind Players
It is understandable to wonder what the additional risks are for wind musicians, above the nonzero background risk of COVID-19 spread. How might we mitigate these risks for ourselves, our colleagues, audiences, students, and families? – University of Iowa
With Nine Out Of 24 Board Members Remaining, National Book Critics Circle Tries To Pick Up The Pieces
Following an internal dispute gone public that has led to nearly two-thirds of the organization’s directors resigning (but the one whose incendiary comments were at the heart of the problem still there), a new board chair (clearly reluctant to take the position) and her remaining colleagues have decided to delay most of this year’s awards and have stated to NBCC membership that they will undertake “difficult internal work … with deep reflection upon past mistakes, and a commitment to serious, structural change in how we conduct business and continue to celebrate the rich diversity of global literature.” – Publishers Weekly
What Diversity Means In The Choral World
Choral music has unique diversity issues that are more subtle than those in the instrumental world. Because of my work as a publisher and composer, I am particularly interested in the representation of our programming as well as in leadership and overall participation. Unlike orchestral programming, many choral music programs consist of music by living composers. In fact, over 80% of the recommended repertoire from the ACDA National Repertoire and Standards lists were by living composers. Choral singing has fewer barriers for participation and the approach taken by any given choir can range from an egalitarian activity with which nearly anyone can participate to an elite one available only to the highly trained and educated. – NewMusicBox