“The way that a lot of our history in Canada is curated, it seems that it’s the same types of histories that are repeated over and over again, and then there are other histories that we never hear about. So we have to start questioning and looking at that critically, of why we’re hearing some things and not others.”
Tag: 09.02.18
Can Autistic People Really ‘Get’ Literature? (Yes)
“According to experts, autism’s ‘triad of impairments’ (in communication, imagination and social interaction) made literature a bad fit for the autistic brain. … If the mental states of others are beyond their reach, how can they possibly manage the moody jungle-gym of make-believe conflict that we call fiction? And if autistic people struggle with the dowsing rods of metaphor and irony, how can they divine a work’s deeper meanings?” Well, Ralph James Savarese begs to differ.
Why Are We Shaming Actors For How Much They Earn?
We can’t help making presumptions about their bank accounts, as if acting is less a career than a ticket to dreamland. Perhaps it’s time to stop differentiating what kind of work we think is “real”—whether it’s acting, bagging groceries, writing (hi!), governing a state, or tilling the fields—and start valuing hard work in whatever form it comes.
TV Seeks Diverse Writers But Is Having Trouble Finding Enough
“In more than three dozen interviews, writers, producers, and studio and network executives said heightened scrutiny in the wake of #OscarsSoWhite and other controversies has led to the concerted push, particularly for women of color in senior positions. … [But relatively few are in the supply chain. It is a problem of Hollywood’s own making.”
Mezzo Emily D’Angelo Sweeps Plácido Domingo’s Operalia Competition
The 23-year-old Italian-Canadian won four of the five categories in which she was eligible: she took first place (women) in both the general competition and the zarzuela category and garnered the audience award and the Birgit Nilsson Prize (for Wagner and Strauss).
Australia’s Arts Funding Is Inadequate And Unfairly Given Out, Say Critics
The economy of “the Lucky Country” has been growing for 26 years without a recession or other break, and Australia is now second only to Switzerland in wealth per adult in the world. “Yet arts funding has not kept pace, … [and] worse in many ways, experts say, [it’s] running the same way it has for years — as an insiders’ game.”
Randy Weston, 1926-2018
Pianist and composer Randy Weston, who championed the African origins of jazz, died at home in New York yesterday. He was 92. With his distinctive rhythmic patterns and powerful harmonic progressions, Weston…
50 Ways to See the Middle Ages
Our tireless staff of thousands is often asked to review all sorts of books, and from time to time one or another seems worth noting. This one, for example, by Elina Gertsman