The author’s antisemitism was well known and public, including in a 1983 interview in which he claimed “There is a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity. … Even a stinker like Hitler didn’t just pick on them for no reason.” The apology statement is buried, but present, on the author’s site, but “no mention is made of Dahl’s antisemitic views in the author’s official biography on the site. The family’s apology was not sent to Jewish organisations.” – The Guardian (UK)
Tag: 12.06.20
A Landmark Supreme Court Case May Change Art Restitution Worldwide
It’s complicated, but basically: SCOTUS “will hear oral arguments on whether the dealers’ heirs can sue in US courts to retrieve the church reliquaries, known as the Guelph Treasure or Welfenschatz, from Germany.” – The Guardian (UK)
Not To Be Hyperbolic, But Writers Save Lives
Just ask author Alex Wheatle, the (fictionalized) subject of one of Steve McQueen’s new Small Axe series of films. Wheatle served time in prison after the Brixton riots of 1981. A cellmate told him to read Black British history and books by Black authors. “Wheatle, now an author with 15 books to his credit, says the fiction novels which gripped him most in jail were those of Chester Himes.” – BBC
The Nutcracker As More Than Just A Show
That is, Nutcracker, but make it about touch and sound. Blind and visually impaired students in these classes, now via video from the students’ homes, each receive “a package of Nutcracker artifacts: a pointe shoe, a candy cane, a long stretch of tulle (from which tutus are made), a story synopsis and glossary in large print or Braille, sheet music with sections of Tchaikovsky’s score, and, of course, a nutcracker.” – The New York Times