Tag: 01.26.18

Is A ‘Takedown’ Of Young Women Poets Really So Brave?

The poetry world has been rent asunder by fierce arguments, in the past several weeks, over who deserves to be called a poet. Is it young women on Instagram and YouTube reading spoken word pieces? Is it Rupi Kaur, who came to fame with her “period photo” being banned from Instagram (and who has now sold a startlingly large number, inching toward a million, of copies of her poetry books)? Or is it the “serious poetry establishment” that takes them down? Says a publisher, “Poetry is most definitely not a broad church, but nor does it consist of 40 mutually exclusive sects. … One can worship at more than one altar.”

The Politically Outspoken Director Of The Queens Museum Steps Down

The board, Laura Raicovich said, was not very happy with the decision to close the museum for 2017’s presidential inauguration. Then “she recently proposed to the board that the museum — in collaboration with other institutions — consider becoming a kind of sanctuary space that connects immigrants with social services. ‘It was made very clear to me that that was not something that was of interest,’ she said.”

A Day In The Life Of A TV Dancer

Eight hours of rehearsal with cameras blocking every move and choreographers telling them what angles look best, then on set with two hours of hair and makeup, and – for a two-minute on-screen dance – three to four hours of takes. Plus the bacting, of course (that’s “background acting,” for those not in the know).

The Nominated Musicians We Won’t See At The Grammys

The New York Times‘ Jon Caramanica: “The seeming arbitrariness of the Grammy nominating process sometimes provides left-field gifts: unexpectedly excellent nominees in categories that almost certainly will not be televised in prime time. Here is a selection of 17 under-heralded artists as worthy, if not more so, than their better-known compatriots.”

What Happens When You Publish A Novel

Mira T. Lee: “I always told myself that once I’d written the book I wanted to write, anything else would be gravy. But suddenly I find myself plagued by feelings of insecurity and inadequacy, everything from ‘Will my sales meet my publisher’s expectations?’ to ‘Why didn’t that reader like my book?’ I thought I was old enough to be over all that ego-type stuff, but it’s a constant battle to stay grounded.”

A Theatre In Liverpool That Had No Heating And Sticky Floors Has Transformed Into ‘The People’s Theatre,’ But How?

The seating was bad, and the theatre was basically a disaster. Three phases of development have changed that, but so have the plays and actors: “While the return of the Everyman Rep might have made headlines last year, there has been an unofficial rep company at the Royal Court for the last decade, performing homegrown work to a homegrown audience, many of whom are experiencing theatre for the first time. Along with acting ability, comic timing and an authentic Liverpool voice, its members also need confidence to work with the audience.”

Jane Birkin, Interpreter And Inspiration Of Serge Gainsbourg’s Songs, Talks About His Roots In Classical Music

Birkin, who recorded “Je T’aime … Moi Non Plus” with Gainsbourg while they were partners and who kept on singing songs he wrote for her after they broke up, says that many of his songs were rooted in classical music. “He was a pianist at a bar in Le Touquet [a seaside town in northern France], and his father was a classical musician — it was from his upbringing that he knew so much about classical music. Brahms was ‘Baby Alone in Babylone.'”

Diversity Advocates At Google Say They’re Being Stalked By Right-Wing Employees And Websites

Perhaps it’s no surprise: “The politicized tension inside Google echoes the challenge that Silicon Valley tech giants face moderating divisive content on their social-media platforms. Tech companies sold themselves as open and neutral forces for good, espousing free expression both on their corporate campuses and on the internet.”