J. Bryan Lowder: “I’m interested in how impressively and arrestingly [the new Nico Muhly opera] illuminates the psychic space where [labels like ‘gay’] honestly don’t (quite yet) apply. … It’s all the stuff that is retroactively explained by ‘gay’ once you’re out, but is something else while you still don’t quite realize that you’re in.”
Category: issues
The Dutch Grapple With “Black Pete”
The black-faced, red-lipped servant of Sinterklaas – often more beloved by regular folks than the goody-goody St. Nick himself, it must be said – has been the subject of controversy in the Netherlands off and on for decades. But this year, following the suggestion by a black UNESCO official that the character should be abolished, the issue has become “an existential revolt not seen in Dutch society since the murder of Pim Fortuyn.”
Do We Have Too Many Arts Organizations? Should Some Of Them Fail?
“It’s in the nature of aging bureaucracies–and nothing is more bureaucratic than a solidly established arts organization–to place self-perpetuation at the top of their to-do lists.”
What Happened To Criticism (And Why It Doesn’t Work)
“It became a profession, even a guild, heavy on trade craft and jargon and dedicated to exclusion and self-protection. It became a way of credentialing an insider class and assuring its members of an income inside of the academy. As such, criticism took up a specialized vocabulary whose chief function, as I see it, was to signal loyalty to the executive board of the approved critical class.”
Speaking Of Diaries, Malcolm X’s Family Doesn’t Want You Reading His
“The family of Malcolm X has launched a lawsuit to stop the publication of a diary of the late civil-rights leader’s last year.”
Should Philly Expand A Playground On Top Of The Oldest African American Cemetery In The City?
“You don’t play tag over the bodies of the ancestors.”
Private Schools In Pakistan Ban Malala’s Book
“Malala ‘was a role model for children, but this book has made her controversial,’ Mirza said. ‘Through this book, she became a tool in the hands of the Western powers.'”
Saturday Night Live Has A Problem With Black Women, But It’s Not Alone
“How to explain SNL’s long, persistent history of alternately ignoring and boxing in black women? As the Essence survey shows, it’s part of a broader phenomenon in pop culture.”
Women’s Giving Circles: Next Big Thing In Grass-Roots Philanthropy?
“Such giving circles are on the rise. Members pool their money to make grants to local nonprofit groups, realizing that one hefty contribution can have an immediate influence in a community.”
Myrtle Beach Voters Approve Tax Hike To Build Performing Arts Center
In a low-turnout referendum (3,546 votes cast), 54% of voters supported a small property tax increase to fund construction of a new $10 million, two-stage venue in a South Carolina resort town better known for golf, country music, and heat-seeking Canadians than for drama, dance, or classical music.