“His work was rarely outwardly political, focusing instead on the conundrums of assimilation. And rather than employing a syncopated musicality or fantastical flights of magic realism, Mr. Hijuelos wrote fluid prose, sonorous but more earthy than poetic, with a forthright American cadence.”
Tag: 10.13.13
Oops! This Is Not The Way WH Smith Wanted Its Self-Publishing Wing To Go
The retailer “shut down its website on Sunday after it was revealed that a search for the term ‘daddy’ brought up hardcore pornographic ebooks featuring bondage and humiliation alongside stories for children.”
How Success Breeds Success (And Blockbusters Breed Blockbusters)
“Although there is no way to play it safe in the entertainment industry, a blockbuster strategy is the safest way to play.”
Oh Hey Julian Fellowes, What’s Your Shakespeare Problem?
The creator of “Downton Abbey” and adapter of the script for a new “Romeo and Juliet” recently claimed Shakespeare was too dang hard for the average person without a Cambridge degree. The theatre world begs to disagree.
What If 3D Films For Adults Save The Movies?
Adults (that is, people over 24) are thronging to “Gravity” in 3D, and pushing up box office receipts as a result.
Another Henry Moore Sculpture Goes Missing
The sculpture was one of four at a sculpture park in Scotland – and it’s worth quite a lot.
Pedro Almodóvar: The Spanish Government Wants To Exterminate Cinema
“Almodóvar criticised the finance minister, Cristobal Montoro, for a hike in VAT on tickets which has been widely blamed for causing many cinemas to shut, with the loss of hundreds of jobs.”
How To Resist Advertising? Chew Something.
“The reason why adverts manage to imprint brand names on our brains is that our lips and the tongue automatically simulate the pronunciation of a new name when we first hear it.” But not if we’re eating popcorn.
Translating Classical Literature: Two Critics Weigh In
Daniel Mendelsohn: “Tone is everything. Translating Agamemnon? Clytemnestra shouldn’t sound like Joan Crawford.” Dana Stevens: “In their eagerness to make Homer accessible to impatient 21st-century ears, [two] new translations sometimes opt for speed and directness at the cost of nobility.”