06.24.18 – ArtsJournal Wayback

Some Bilingual Authors Argue We Should Stop Putting Non-English Words In Italics

“The format is meant to be used for clarity, to indicate to a reader that she hasn’t come across a typo or an English word she doesn’t know. But the practice reinforces a monolinguistic culture of othering, some writers believe, and it simply doesn’t sound natural. For the world’s bilingual population — by some estimates, more than half — it’s not the way people really talk.”

Donald Hall, Former Poet Laureate And Elegant Chronicler Of Rural Life, Has Died At 89

Hall was a prolific writer, whose essays, memoirs, freelance articles and poetry spread his readers across many genres. “Hall was one of the leading poets of his generation, frequently mentioned in the company of Robert Bly, James Wright and Galway Kinnell. In evoking a bucolic New England past and expressing a deep veneration of nature, he used simple and direct language, though often to surreal effect.”

Hollywood Calls On Kids To Solve Its Pipeline Diversity Issues

The Youth Cinema Project was founded years before April Reign started the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, but it could help solve the problem. “What sets Youth Cinema Project apart from other pipeline programs is that, starting at a young age, the kids are doing all the work, as opposed to the adults. The participating school districts have conducted studies that show real results of teaching hands-on filmmaking.”

The Intense Responsibility – Burden Or Not – Of Inherited Family Art

It started with a deathbed plea and a promise – a promise that has meant decades of trying to figure out what to do with the art. “Selling the work was never part of Mr. Carlson’s plan anyway, nor has he ever tried to sell it. This wasn’t high art, but that wasn’t really the point. This was about a family relationship across generations, the weight of old promises that can keep you awake at night and, perhaps most of all, the mystery of a creative impulse quietly, relentlessly sustained.”

‘Sesame Street’ Provides Many A Lifeline For Traumatized – And Immigrant – Youth

The Sesame Workshop, says its head of global philanthropy, “has worked for years with immigrant communities and organizations in the U.S. to ‘help them help their children feel safe’ through the use of bilingual resources. And because many poor immigrants are in the country illegally, Westin said the organization is ‘often doing its work under the radar because the families are worried about having attention called to them.'”

Librarians Change The Name Of An Award Because Of Serious Concerns About Racism And Anti-Native Bias

Anyone who has read the Little House on the Prairie books, either for themselves or to their kids, probably remembers the depictions of Native Americans, not to mention Pa’s episode of blackface and minstrel performance. The librarians certainly haven’t forgotten that. “A division of the American Library Association has voted to remove the name of Laura Ingalls Wilder from a major children’s book award, over concerns about how the author portrayed African Americans and Native Americans.”

The National Museum Of Natural History Gets Its Murals Back

Paleoartist Jay Matternes “created the Smithsonian murals between 1960 and 1975, working with museum scientists and doing his own research to depict specific environments. Each mural was made for a specific space and exhibition, and each was painted on canvas that was adhered to plaster walls, he said. They took years to complete.” The murals were removed for the multi-year, multi-million-dollar renovation of Fossil Hall, and they’re too fragile to actually put back, but two new large-scale prints will be very close.

What Are Writers, And Institutions, Supposed To Do With Junot Diaz And His Self-Pardon?

And it’s sure not just Díaz: “This ‘talk about how you’re going to do and be better’ stuff isn’t actually a great formula for reconciliation. It offers neither retributive nor restorative justice. It privileges public acceptance over making things right with the actual victims, who barely seem to register at all. But it’s pretty effective: In an age of never-ending public relations wars, we’re so starved for any sign of sincere spiritual struggle that we rush to reward self-proclaimed sinners who say they’re trying to make good.”

Students And Teachers – Often Worried About The Next School Shooting – Have To Figure Out How To Perform Plays With Guns

There are a lot of “learning opportunities” out there in high school play and musical land: “High schools and colleges across the country license shows from an enduring catalog of stage favorites. Firing a gun, whether into the air or at the heart of a young lover, is integral to a surprising number of them, including ‘West Side Story,’ ‘Les Misérables’ and ‘Oklahoma!'”

Tag: 06.24.18