Suspects Held In Theft Of Compostela’s Most Valuable Manuscript

“A former church caretaker, his wife, son and another woman have been arrested in connection with last year’s disappearance of a priceless medieval text from the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in northwest Spain, police said on Wednesday. The Codex Calixtinus, a 12th century collection of sermons and liturgical passages [and music], vanished from a safe deposit box in the cathedral.”

A Dance Critic’s Passion For The Statue Of Liberty

Alastair Macaulay: “I don’t like to sit close to dancing in theaters: I have to feel the whole stage space around and above the dancers. It matters to me how even tiny effects of dancing can register in the depths and heights of a vast space. The marvel of Liberty is that her stance and her gesture radiate for miles. The emotion she generates keeps changing, according to angle, distance, time of day, weather and light.”

Faulkner’s The Sound And The Fury To Be Published, As Intended, With Colored Ink

“The four sections of the book, which tells of the disintegration of a southern family, move back and forth through time. Faulkner had hoped to use different colours of ink to mark the sometimes-confusing chronological shifts.” Now, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the author’s death, the Folio Society is releasing a printing following Faulkner’s plan.

Film Censorship Increasing In Once-Liberal Lebanon

“With a new government dominated by allies of Hezbollah, long a proxy of Syria, censorship has been on the rise. Four new films have been banned this year – a record for the … censorship bureau … Intellectually and artistically, Beirut has long been freer than other places in the Middle East; some now fear that that is under threat as never before.”

British Comedian Eric Sykes Dead At 89

“Although he first came to fame as a writer for radio,” Sykes – who was fascinated by silence (and, cruel irony, ultimately went deaf) – fulfilled his ambition by writing and directing several films that were virtually wordless.” This in addition to being Britain’s most admired postwar comedy writer and having a brilliant career acting on stage and television – most notably in a long partnership with Hattie Jacques.