“At a time when most foundations are cutting back or maintaining last year’s spending, a few are doing what hedge fund manager Ken Nickerson of the Eos Foundation calls ‘counter-cyclical giving.’ They’re increasing their grants. … While Nickerson recapitalizes his foundation, others dig deeper into their shrinking endowments than would be required to simply maintain spending. There are growing cries for more to do so.”
Tag: 02.16.09
Chinese Writer Is Stabbed At A Beijing Reading
“A prominent Chinese writer known for provocative, antiestablishment Web postings was stabbed and wounded during a book reading on Saturday. The writer, Xu Lai, a newspaper reporter, novelist and blogger whose satirical Internet postings are widely followed by students, journalists and the Chinese literati, may have been singled out for his writings, his friends and associates said.”
McEwan Hid Rushdie Days After Fatwa Was Issued
“Twenty years almost to the day after [Salman] Rushdie had a death sentence declared against him by the Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini, it has been revealed that he was offered shelter by [Ian] McEwan in a cottage in the Cotswolds. There the two writers hid away shortly after the fatwa was issued on 14 February, 1989. This intimate detail is contained in a long profile of McEwan published in next week’s issue of the New Yorker.”
Dubai Book Fest Bans Author Because Of Gay Character
The director of the festival, Isobel Abulhoul, wrote to Geraldine Bedell and told her: “I do not want our festival remembered for the launch of a controversial book. If we launched the book and a journalist happened to read it, then you could imagine the political fallout that would follow. This could be a minefield.”
Britain’s New Tomb-Robbers
So-called “‘nighthawkers’ are using metal detectors and online auctions to strip rural Britain of its archaeological riches, and their illegal activities are proving every bit as destructive. English Heritage has been so concerned about the extent of the depredation that it commissioned a study, which revealed that what was once an illicit hobby has mushroomed into a semi-professional criminal industry. According to police, thieves have formed loosely connected networks to trade information, often in online forums, about new and vulnerable sites.”
The School Librarian, Redefined
“Some of these new librarians teach children how to develop PowerPoint presentations or create online videos. Others get students to use social networking sites to debate topics from history or comment on classmates’ creative writing. Yet as school librarians increasingly teach students crucial skills needed not only in school, but also on the job and in daily life, they are often the first casualties of school budget crunches.”
How The Arts Got Their Stimulus
As the details of the final bill were being hammered out, tens of thousands of arts advocates around the country were calling and e-mailing legislators. Arts groups also organized an advertising blitz arguing that culture contributes 6 million jobs and $30 billion in tax revenue and $166 billion in annual economic impact.