Where Do You Draw the Line Between Commercial and Literary Fiction?

James Parker: “I draw it up the side of the Boston Public Library. I draw it through the middle of Stephen King’s wallet. I draw it right between the frontal lobes of every writer who ever lived.”
Rivka Galchen: “Maybe Commercial Fiction is really great, or maybe it’s great the way a Dorito is great, but Commercial Fiction is in some way consonant with the market. … If, though, we didn’t have the term Literary to protect books of value that ¬aren’t brilliant as commerce, then we would have Melville’s Omoo and Typee but not Moby-Dick.

Traditional Newspapers Are Doomed. Now A Fight For Control Of Distribution

“Having a legacy business configured around a website is now almost as much of a headache as the rumbling printing press, fuelled by paper and money. It is likely we will start to see studio or agency models emerge where publishing models once were, trying to create value around relationships and services rather than packages and products.”

San Bernardino Looks To Art For Some Healing

“Even before the news media descended, the city was bankrupt, a poster child for urban ills — the poorest city of its size in California and a haven for gang violence, drug addiction, foreclosures and political dysfunction. San Bernardino has long been known for nightmarish air pollution in which asthmatic children from low-income families breathe diesel fumes from cargo trains and trucks.”

Top Posts From AJBlogs For 02.21.16

The Met versus The Met–At Least People Care
I am, of course, talking about the Metropolitan Museum* and the Metropolitan Opera. Since I last posted, on the Met Museum’s new logo, many people have weighed in both here and on other sites as… … read more
AJBlog: Real Clear ArtsPublished 2016-02-21

 

Shakespeare Wisely Shaken Up
John Scott and Valda Setterfield’s Lear. King Lear (Setterfield) besieged by a storm: Kevin Coquelard (L) and Marcus Bellamy. Photo: Maria Baranova “Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! howls Shakespeare’s King Lear, defying the storm… … read more
AJBlog: DancebeatPublished 2016-02-20

 

Ecolalia

Umberto Eco died yesterday (Friday) at the age of 84. I’ve written about his work on occasion over the years, including something on his analysis of the comic strip Peanuts, That’s not online. (My piece, that… … read more
AJBlog: Quick StudyPublished 2016-02-20
Sullivan Fortner In Portland
In his solo piano concert opening the Portland Jazz Festival last night, Sullivan Fortner surveyed a wide territory of styles and wrapped them into his own. At the Böesendorfer grand in the rectal hall of… … read more
AJBlog: RiffTidesPublished 2016-02-19
Improvising preludes
In my Juilliard course on the future of classical music, we’ve been looking at how classical music was in the past. Why? Because it was looser, more flexible, with the audience applauding during the… … read more
AJBlog: SandowPublished 2016-02-19

Extracted, Diffracted, Destroyed
The poem is composed of words extracted from Joseph Roth’s The Radetzky March and mashed up in a collage that bends their meaning, so that it’s a diffraction as much as an extraction. The drawing…read more
AJBlog: Straight|UpPublished 2016-02-19

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Can Chris Rock Do Anything To Save Oscars Ratings?

“The ratings numbers are of paramount concern to the academy, which derives the largest part of its income from the awards ceremony. Last year the audience fell 15 percent, to about 37.3 million viewers. At the same time, ABC has been raising prices for its ads; they now cost an average of $1.9 million to $2 million for a 30-second spot.”