Audre Lorde’s 1977 piece “Poetry Is not a Luxury” seems prescient right now. “Poems have alchemized death and imagined the continuation of lives cut short by racist violence. They’ve given texture to the ‘sudden strangeness’ of life brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, offering comfort to countless readers. In moments of uncertainty, poetry has illuminated bridges to the past—and shown how the act of remembering might alter the future.” – The Atlantic
Tag: 08.01.20
Tokyo’s Kabuki-Za Theatre Has Reopened
Blocked off seats, reduced capacity, and musicians wear masks and face shields, with dancers keeping far apart as they perform onstage. – BBC
What Does It Truly Mean To ‘Decolonize’ Dance?
Ask choreographer Sarah Crowell. The artistic director emeritus of the Destiny Arts Center. “The inquiry requires that we look at all levels of society. We have a particular way of seeing beauty that leaves people out. … In dance, George Balanchine had a great deal to do with creating an aesthetic that was seen as valid and the truth. Very slender, prepubescent, long-legged women. They would have to be white females, but it doesn’t cover all white femaleness. To me, the mind of the artist is like all the minds: colonized to think in a particular way. If what is beautiful is white and thin with long legs and very little breasts, then in the ballet world, how do we break that?” – San Francisco Classical Voice
Bidding Farewell To Havana’s City Historian And Conservationist
Eusebio Leal Spengler so loved the old city that he found ways to save it. “Never a priority in the 20th century, old Havana fell into disrepair. By befriending Fidel Castro, Leal began the process of bringing it back. He managed to get the old town designated a Unesco world heritage site, and then gather enough money from Europe to start putting the buildings back together.” (Spengler died on July 31.) – The Observer (UK)
Becoming The Accidental Chronicler Of Four Ridiculously Intense Years
In December of 2015, British novelist Ali Smith proposed an idea to her publishers: Four books in four years, as close to the time news events happened as possible. “I’d try to write one a year, deliver one a year. … If we did it like this, under time conditions, a kind of experiment sourced in cyclic time but moving forward through time simultaneously, it’d surely become about not just how story works but also how form, and society, and contemporary language itself – given that the novel form one way or another is always about all of these things – move and progress over a given time.” Wow, that given time. – The Guardian (UK)
The Strange New Life Of Objects In The Coronavirus Era
There are the familiar objects that suddenly seem to glow with importance – toilet paper rolls, Lysol wipes – and then there are the new objects: the to-go cocktail pouch, the ultra-large Burger King social distance crown, the virus piñata to hit and kill, and, of course, Black Lives Matter facemasks. – The New York Times
Don’t Treat Women Writers Like Mistresses, Publishers
Novelist Kathleen McMahon says she’s tired of flowers on publication day. “MacMahon says she does not like that writers are treated ‘like show ponies . . . I’m not comfortable with that. I’d prefer to be an equal professional at the table. Everybody is doing a different job. You do your job and I’ll do mine. I sound harsh but I think it actually makes me better to work with . . . I am not trying to make friends with anybody.'” – Irish Times
The Rank Hypocrisy Of Threatening TikTok
The U.S. president’s TikTok flipout might not just be because of its security issues; indeed, there’s a lot more to it, including free speech … and Facebook. “It’s a rare feat to upturn two such fundamental democratic values—free speech and free markets—at the same time.” – Wired
Actor Wilford Brimley Of ‘Cocoon’ And So Very Much More Has Died At 85
The actor excelled at playing cantankerous characters but came to fame playing an assistant engineer at a nuclear plant in The China Syndrome. Later, he became famous for his spokesperson roles, not to mention his (very) lively Twitter presence. – The New York Times
To Cull One’s Books During Quarantine, Or To Hold All Of Those Friends Even More Tightly?
Not surprisingly, different readers had passionate (and passionately differing) opinions about their book collections and an essay recreating a cull. “While it is fine to move so-so books along, books love us and whisper their thoughts to us, as we pass their covers. Can an ereader do that? Trying to find a favorite phrase or vignette in an ebook is a time-wasting fraud. My real books fall open to what I need.” – Washington Post