“Fanny Howe has just won the Poetry Foundation’s Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, which brings with it an award of $100,000. Howe, now 68, has published many works of poetry; poet Mark Doty calls her book ‘The Lyrics’ ‘a richly meditative collection.'”
Tag: 04.14.09
Fairey’s Lawyer: Proof Lacking, Some Charges Dismissed
“Citing a lack of evidence, a Boston Municipal Court clerk-magistrate yesterday rejected some of the vandalism charges Boston police are trying to bring against celebrated graffiti artist Frank Shepard Fairey, Fairey’s lawyer said. The clerk-magistrate said that seven of the 17 charges police wanted to bring … should not go forward in criminal court because there is not enough proof he committed the acts of vandalism, said Fairey’s lawyer, Jeffrey Wiesner.”
Even The Day Jobs Are Disappearing In Hollywood
“Jobs that the creative community once relied on to stay afloat during rough times are themselves starting to dry up in this recession. That includes everything from directing assignments at commercial production houses to positions at restaurants, bars, hotels and retailers.” While that’s bad news for people who’ve been pink-slipped from studios, it’s “even worse for people who are struggling to break into the biz.”
Proletarian Revolution Among The Insects
“Some ant species raid colonies of smaller species, killing the queen, scaring away worker ants and stealing larvae. Kidnapped larvae grow up as slaves … [Researchers] saw enslaved worker ants destroy two-thirds of newly hatched queens and female workers of their captors.”
Orange County PAC Slashes Salaries
“The Orange County Performing Arts Center is reducing staff salaries and benefits by 14 percent across the board, with senior staff taking a 16 percent reduction. Three full-time employees have also been laid off.” To stave off further cuts, the OCPAC board has launched a $1 million challenge grant.
David Hare Hits The Wall(s)
The playwright and monologuist is bringing a double-bill of one-man one-acts the New York’s Public Theater next month. In Berlin/Wall, Hare turns his gaze on two barriers: the one that used to divide Berlin and the one going up to separate the West Bank from Israel.
Does This Mean No More Commissions Without Liability Insurance?
“Composer Nathan Currier is suing the cash-strapped Brooklyn Philharmonic for $250,000 because it lopped off the climactic finish of his Gaian Variations in a ballyhooed [Earth Day] concert at Avery Fisher Hall on April 21, 2004. Currier claims that the philharmonic trimmed the work in order to avoid paying overtime to its unionized orchestra.”
Marilyn Chambers, 56, Ivory Snow Model And Adult Film Superstar
“[T]he legendary adult movie queen who was the wholesome model on Ivory Snow detergent boxes in the early 1970s when she made her adult movie debut in the X-rated classic Behind the Green Door” was found dead in her Southern California home.
Warning: Rise Of Auteur Would Marginalize The Playwright
“[A]lthough the religious cult of the auteur has been widely attacked … it is now in danger of spreading to theatre. Certain creative figures, whose endeavours I frequently admire, are in danger of acquiring auteur status. What that means, in effect, is that their individual style and idiosyncratic signature becomes more important than the work itself.”
Wary Of Repetition, Margaret Drabble Abandons Fiction
“Margaret Drabble has said that she will not write another novel because she is worried about repeating herself. The 69-year-old author of novels including A Summer Birdcage and The Ice Age told the Radio 4 arts programme Front Row last week that she had stopped writing fiction. ‘What I don’t like is the idea that I’m repeating myself without knowing it, which is what old people do endlessly.'”