“What do we mean by literature today? Why study it? Is there a form of writing that is not literary?”
Tag: 03.27.11
Seville’s New Metropol Parasol: Wood, Curves And Glue
The fanciful, undulating structure, designed by Jürgen Mayer H and made of timber and structural steel, is intended to provide shade and public amenities for a plaza in the old city that had been used largely as a parking lot.
Washington State Close To Killing Arts Commission
“Gov. Chris Gregoire proposes eliminating the Washington State Arts Commission and slashing state funding for grants to hundreds of nonprofit arts organizations. Some lawmakers also want to scale back or repeal a separate program the agency runs that sets aside one-half of 1 percent from the construction of state-owned buildings to commission works of art.”
Diana Wynne Jones, Children’s Author, Dead At 76
“Her intelligent and beautifully written fantasies are of seminal importance for their bridging of the gap between ‘traditional’ children’s fantasy, as written by CS Lewis or E Nesbit, and the more politically and socially aware children’s literature of the modern period, where authors such as Jacqueline Wilson or Melvyn Burgess explicitly confront problems of divorce, drugs and delinquency.”
What We Don’t Find In Tennessee Williams’s Diaries
“So yes, they’re self-obsessed. But isn’t it revealing what they leave out? No entry exists for the day when Williams wins a Pulitzer, or when his beloved grandfather dies. Readers have to search hard, too, for much information about Williams’s plays, or in fact the wider world.”
I Love Poets In The Springtime
“Spring Fashion Modeled by Rising Young Poets.” The words are heart-sinking. For some readers, this will be because poetry represents a higher form of culture that can only be debased by the commentary of Oprah Winfrey and the pencil skirts of L’Wren Scott. But this isn’t quite right.”
UK Film Study: Audiences Feel Stereotyped, Marginalized
“Its findings suggest most Black African/Caribbean individuals believe they are too often characterised as drug dealers and that a majority of Asian audiences feel Asian religious culture is not reflected authentically. Almost three-quarters of Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual audiences believe that film focuses on them as having problems rather than being everyday people, it continues.”
West End – The Stars Fade As Understudies Take Over
“Growing numbers of stars are unable to keep up with rigorous performance timetables. Illness, strained vocal chords and additional performances, coupled with high demand for star-studded casts, are contributing to the phenomenon, leaving audiences who have forked out hefty sums for shows increasingly disgruntled”
Why Do Some Dance Companies Thrive For A Long Time While Others Perish?
“Why have Ailey and Taylor survived and prospered, while so many others have withered? Continuity happens because of generations of ardent believers in a dance artist’s work.”
Snobby About TV? You Shouldn’t Be
“What all the arched-brow outrage over the SAT question revealed is not a protective instinct toward education but a snobbish unwillingness to admit the real nature of TV. Yes, there is crap on television… But there are also, as in all forms of arts and letters, many wonderful and wondrous things on television.”