When An Artist Burns His Work, It’s A Violent Act, Meaning What, Exactly?

“There are numerous examples of governments and institutions putting books into bonfires, but they are still actions of external protest and censure. When writers burn their own manuscripts, they are destroying their own words. Cathartic, but also a bit sadistic. Burning is a slow, ritualistic death. Why not simply throw away a manuscript?”

Kids And Teenagers Can Make Startlingly Good Theatre – If Only They Have The Chance

“Like women on Reclaim the Night marches, the mere presence of these girls on stage reminds us that it is not women’s freedom (to be themselves, to dress as they want) that should be curtailed, but rather the prurient way that they are perceived. What’s required is a shift in perception: a piece of hair twirled or teeth biting a lip is not an invitation to something else.”

How William Shawn Built The New Yorker Into A Literary Institution

“The sheer proliferation of advertising demanded that Shawn scramble in search of more and more editorial matter. This, he found, had an inevitable drag on quality. There is, in this world, after all, only so much talent at a given time—only so much good writing. At a certain point, he found it necessary to limit the pages in a weekly issue to 248—as fat as a phone book in some towns. In his tenure as editor, Shawn made innumerable hires, tried out countless freelancers, and ran long, multipart series—some forgettable, some central to the literary and journalistic history of mid-century America.”