Robin Phillips “served as artistic director of the festival from 1975 to 1980, where his imaginative scope and meticulous attention to detail inspired a next generation of actors and lured big names like Maggie Smith to the Canadian stage.”
Category: people
Marlon Brando’s Private Audiotapes Reveal A Man Haunted By Fame And Memories
“Brando started recording his thoughts ‘as soon as he could get his hands on a tape recorder,’ Douglas said, adding that he loved new technology and gadgets. ‘He was the first person to buy a Mac. He was the first person to tell me about the Internet. I had no idea what he was talking about.'”
The Moment Haruki Murakami Knew He Would Be A Novelist
“The satisfying crack when the bat met the ball resounded throughout Jingu Stadium. Scattered applause rose around me. In that instant, for no reason and on no grounds whatsoever, the thought suddenly struck me: I think I can write a novel.”
Ingrid Sischy, Editor And Cultural Maven, Dead At 63
“For nearly 40 years, Ms. Sischy (pronounced SEE-shee) was an influential chronicler of the cultural orbit — in particular the avant-garde orbit — of New York, the country and the world. A fixture at fashion shows and gallery openings around the globe, she knew seemingly everyone on the cutting edge of creative life and was considered a formidable handicapper of talent.”
EL Doctorow And The Difficulties Of Historical Fiction
Fiction, unlike history, explores what might have happened, not what actually has happened. “Doctorow’s way with historical characters is in line with this idea. He gets to know Henry Ford or Emma Goldman through their recorded actions and then wonders what those characters might have done in a fictional situation.”
Vera Stern, 88, Helped Save Carnegie Hall
“When Carnegie Hall was threatened with demolition, to make way for an office tower, Isaac Stern served as the public face of the campaign to save it, but his wife worked furiously behind the scenes, proselytizing and persuading. Eventually, the city agreed to buy the hall for $5 million and spend another $100,000 to improve it. In recognition of Mrs. Stern’s efforts, Box 44 was named for her.”
Conductor Paul Freeman, 79
The December 2000 issue of Fanfare magazine proclaimed Maestro Freeman “one of the finest conductors our nation has produced.” Freeman led several recordings by both the Chicago Sinfonietta and Czech National Symphony, including his landmark three volume African Heritage Symphonic Series for Cedille Records.
The Biggest American Radio Star Most Americans Never Heard – And Perhaps The US’s Greatest Cultural Ambassador
“For 40 years, … [his broadcasts] constituted one of his country’s most effective instruments of cultural diplomacy.” He once said, “Jazz tells more about America than any American can realize. It bespeaks vitality, strength, social mobility; it’s a free music with its own discipline, but not an imposed, inhibiting discipline.”
How Joan Didion Went From Writer To Literary Celebrity
“Although she started to take on more political subjects in the late ’70s, the interest in her personal life – and her personal belongings – only grew. In the crossover of feminism, fashion, and literary interests, there is a whole swathe of the internet where Didion is a staple reference. Her borscht recipe can be found on the website Brain Pickings.”
Ai Weiwei Gets His Passport Back
He said on Wednesday that the authorities had given him no indication of why he had received his passport now. “I only can say why not? They have promised for the past four years to give it back. Now finally they gave it to me,” he said in a telephone interview. “They always say it’s in the process but I just need to be patient.”