One of the primary criticisms of the Columbus Symphony’s plan to lay off more than 20 musicians and slash the length of its season has been that the plan ignores the impact such cuts would have on the musicians who have devoted their careers to the orchestra. So the musicians have been working to replace numbers with faces…
Tag: 02.03.08
A Flourishing Genre Of “How To Read”
Supposedly intended for “writers, readers and anyone interested in what happens on the page”, How Fiction Works belongs to the upper shelf of what is turning into a very considerable critical sub-genre: the literary user’s manual.
Call To Action: Save Spiral Jetty
As reported on Modern Art Notes last week, an iconic artwork is in danger. Artist Nancy Holt, the widow of artist Robert Smithson, is encouraging the arts world to protest plans for exploratory oil drilling in Utah’s Great Salt Lake that may have an effect on her late husband’s 1,500-foot-long, 15-foot-wide environmental artwork “Spiral Jetty.”
The Manifesto: How Fiction Works
“He has been variously described as ‘the strongest literary critic we have’, ‘the most influential critic of his generation’ and ‘one of the few living practitioners of his craft who will be read 50 years from now’. His new book, How Fiction Works, as its faux-utilitarian title ironically implies, is a position paper, a manifesto, a distillation of the arguments and opinions that have underpinned Wood’s criticism and reviews over the past 15 years.”
Surprise – Juno Soundtrack Hits Top Of The Charts
“The ‘Juno’ soundtrack is an exceedingly rare case in these chilly record industry times — the exception that proves the rule. Top-selling movie soundtracks are a relic of previous decades, the victim of digital downloading and its pick-and-choose utility. The changes taking place in the music industry have been replicated at every level, including at the soundtrack divisions of most major labels.”
Philip Glass – Watch Those Flying Kids!
”One of my kids jumped into my arms,” the composer says somewhat sheepishly, ”and he bent my finger back.” The doctor operated quickly to prevent future impairment. Still recovering, Glass is out of commission as a performer but otherwise will ”completely participate” during his two-day visit.
Charles Simic Talks About Being US Poet Laureate
“Poetry doesn’t need much promotion. It is doing quite well in this country. I gave a reading the other night in Concord, N.H., with two former poet laureates — Donald Hall and Maxine Kumin –and 740 people came. That’s a lot of people!”
Reinventing Sylvie Guillem
She and the Royal Ballet divorced last year, ending an 18-year relationship. “I know they said I left the company because I didn’t want to do the big classical roles any more, but that’s not true.”
A Stegner Classic – Spoiled By Fraud?
There are numerous examples of “borrowing, plagiarism, literary theft or copyright infringement — take your pick — that occur in Wallace Stegner’s ‘Angle of Repose,’ which received the Pulitzer Prize in 1972.” So what should be done?
Interactive Theatre (Whether You Want It To Be Or Not)
“Interactive theater places theater-goers in the middle of things, at times making them performers. The imaginary wall is broken down in this type of work, and the audience has a different experience of what is happening.” But what if the audience doesn’t agree to being part of the procedings?