Tag: 07.23.09

Iran’s Most Important Novelist Makes His Debut In English

Suppose that the books of, say, Milan Kundera or Isabel Allende or Naguib Mahfouz had been unavailable in English until this year. So it is with Shahriar Mandanipour, whose new Censoring an Inranian Love Story is the first of his works to appear in English translation. Says David Mattin, “It will be for many, I suspect, a first encounter not just with Mandanipour but with Iranian fiction of any kind. … Quite a loss, given that these writers are the current voice of a literary tradition that stretches back 2,500 years.”

Academics: Way More Conformist Than They’ll Admit

“‘Academics, like teenagers, sometimes don’t have any sense regarding the degree to which they are conformists.’ So says Thomas Bouchard, the Minnesota psychologist known for his study of twins raised apart.” Why is this? “You’re an expert because all your peers recognize you as such. But if you start to get too far out of line with what your peers believe, they will look at you askance and start to withdraw the informal title of ‘expert’ they have implicitly bestowed on you. Then you’ll bear the less comfortable label of ‘maverick,’ which is only a few stops short of ‘scapegoat’ or ‘pariah’.”

Alice in Maximum-Security Wonderland

“As a sound-system blasted a cha-cha-cha, the men began to dance. Wearing outlandish costumes with oversize hats and wigs, and boots with 15-centimeter heels from a Milanese store that caters to drag queens, they strutted and pranced.” It’s Alice in Wonderland, a Theatrical Essay on the End of a Civilization, performed by a company that for 21 years has made theater with, and for, inmates at a maximum-security prison in Italy.

What’s The Point Of A Visiting Theatre Professor At Oxford?

Michael Frayn will be the next visiting professor of contemporary theatre at Oxford University, succeeding Kevin Spacey in a “starry professorship” that “seems to be more of a PR exercise than a serious academic proposal. Frayn is a respectable, intellectual choice but Oxford does not even have a drama department at which he is expected to lecture.”

Dear United Airlines: You Broke My Guitar.

“Next time an airline loses or breaks your luggage, try shaming them with a song and a video. That’s what a little-known Canadian country and western singer did after he claimed that his Taylor acoustic guitar had been damaged by baggage handlers at Chicago’s O’Hare airport last year. United Breaks Guitars has become a YouTube sensation and provided Dave Carroll with the biggest hit of his career.”

Legit Heir And Maybe-Relative Tussle Over Molnar Estate

“[W]hen a family history has been segmented by the Holocaust and spans generations, continents, religions and ultimately sensibilities, separating truth from mythology can be like trying to unmix two shades that went into making the same can of paint. That, at least, is one way to interpret the battle between Elizabeth Rhodes and Gabor Lukin over the estate of the Hungarian playwright and novelist Ferenc Molnar, who died in 1952.”

Report: Moscow’s Architectural Heritage Is Being Erased

“Moscow’s skyline and architectural heritage are on the verge of being destroyed forever because of low-quality renovations and thoughtless demolition, according to a report released yesterday by a group of Russian and international activists. … The problems have been blamed on a lack of legal consequences for developers who ruin listed buildings.”

LACMA Curators Leaving In Higher Than Normal Numbers

“The museum’s curatorial ranks have dwindled as key staff members have retired or moved on to new positions. A search for a Chinese art specialist has dragged on for nearly three years, and five curators have left this year or will depart soon. With a hiring freeze in effect, the situation raises questions about how long the vacancies will remain open. Until the economy improves? Forever?”