LOSING FAITH

Jane Alexander began her term as head of the National Endowment for the Arts with optimism. Her new book shows that by the time she left the NEA, her “health, idealism and forbearance all suffered. She gripes about flying coach. She complains that the government won’t pay to move her back to New York. ‘The system is so corrupt that it may never be fixed,’ she concludes, sweepingly.” – The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

KING OF THE WEB

Stephen King is encouraged by the internet success of the novella he released on the web this spring. So he plans to serialize a story on the web. “King proposes fans pay $1 per installment and suggests everyone be on the honor system. He said he’ll cease publication if too many people steal the story. ‘But I just don’t believe that will happen. I mean, we’re talking a buck a pop here, right?’ ” – Wired

HOW NOT TO READ

  • Harold Bloom takes an e-book for a spin, and… well, the results are rather predictable. “For me the Internet is like the Congo. I know it exists, but I will never go there.” On e-text: “Intimacy with a [computer] screen is, I suppose, possible, but if there are descriptions of it available, I would rather not see them.” – Feed

REFRESHING CHANGE

Big time piano competitions have gotten a bad name for turning out faceless wonders. “But this amateur competition, as opposed to the Cliburn, the quadrennial horse race for budding professionals 18 to 30 – kept tapping into an emotional immediacy and intensity too rare in today’s professional music-making.” – Dallas Morning News