Tag: 01.12.18

Some Surefire Advice On How To Become A Famous Writer

“The truth is that, in writing, as in any profession, merit is only tangentially related to success, if at all. I’m not a hugely well-known writer, so I’m not the sort of person who generally gets asked for writing advice by eager young up-and-comers. But as a mid-level freelance content generator, with some decent bylines but no real chance at reaching that Times column in the sky, I do have some thoughts about how you (yes you!) can become a successful writer.”

New York Ends Its ‘Pilot Program’ That Restricted Prisoners To A List Of 77 Books

The governor tweeted that it was canceled – for the time being. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, on Twitter: “I am directing the Dept. of Corrections to rescind its flawed pilot program that restricted shipment of books & care packages to inmates. … Concerns from families need to be addressed, while we redouble efforts to fight prison contraband.”

Irish Women Are Sick Of Being Excluded From Literature, And They’re Not Going To Take It Anymore

More than 250 Irish poets and other writers have already signed a pledge not to participate in any anthologies, conferences, or festivals where women writers aren’t represented in fair quantities. What was the tipping point? “The pledge was conceived after the publication of the Cambridge Companion to Irish Poets in 2017. Covering Irish poetry from the 17th century to the present, it features essays on four women poets and 26 men, with just four female contributors.”

Making Art Out Of Big Brother

Art might be a less creepy way to deal with constant surveillance: “We assign opportunities to mark and document our existence all the time, often without knowing it. Walk down a city street, and numerous security cameras record your movements. Go online, and an invisible swarm of trackers will record your interests, your location and much more. We all know this, but most of us don’t think about it much, perhaps because it happens so inconspicuously. Artists make it their business to point out the inconspicuous, which is why some see our surveillance environment as a rich field for works about power and the erosion of privacy.”

Kynaston McShine, Who Shaped What We Think Of As Contemporary Art, Has Died At 82

McShine, who organized a show that defined – and uplifted – Minimalism, and whose 1970 show “Information” at the Museum of Modern Art “set out to disturb the artistic and political status quo,” was a distinctive figure in the art world. “Especially in the 1980s and ’90s, Mr. McShine exercised a great deal of influence on what the Modern acquired in the way of postwar and more recent art, and applied a keen eye to its installation in the permanent-collection galleries.”

Musicals Are Popular, But That Doesn’t Make Them Bad Art

Duh? And yet, ugh: “The notion that musicals are somehow a lower form of art seems to be felt at the very highest echelons of the industry itself – even at Equity, it seems, which recently approached its members with a survey that approached three categories differently: one for performers in musical theatre, one for actors in plays and one for stage management.”