“The company’s Instagram and Twitter handles are both still @Madewell1937, and its LinkedIn page says, ‘Madewell was started in 1937 as a workwear company, and we’re always looking to the brand’s roots for inspiration.’ This is, to put it mildly, baloney. Madewell as it stands today has almost nothing at all to do with the company founded by my great-grandfather almost 80 years ago.”
Tag: 09.28.14
Moscow’s Ferocious Literary Feud Over Solzhenitsyn (Who’s Been Dead For Six Years)
It all started when the editor of Literaturnaya Gazeta and Kultura suggested that Solzhenitsyn voluntarily left the Soviet Union (he was expelled in 1974) and that he “essentially appealed to the Americans to begin a war” against the USSR.
Come Enter The Poetry Brothel (Yes, It’s A Thing)
Founder Stephanie Berger: “Poetry and prostitution are two of the oldest professions in the world and, in my opinion, were always destined to be bedfellows. Both poetry and sex feed the human need for intimacy, fantasy, desire, violence, and freedom.”
Where Are The Real Debates In The Arts?
“I don’t see a lot of honest debate going on in our field – at least not public debate. Maybe it’s happening somewhere, but it isn’t highly visible and readily apparent to me. I wonder if that kind of challenging of assumptions and holding people accountable for their positions is going on out of the public window in our organizations – from funders to researchers to service groups to academia. I wonder if the kind of serious debate that is healthy for arriving at well thought out conclusions on which to base decision making is happening behind closed doors – because I don’t see it happening much in our public arenas.”
No, Practice Doesn’t Make Us Experts (But Here’s Why That’s Okay)
“If we acknowledge that people differ in what they have to contribute, then we have an argument for a society in which all human beings are entitled to a life that includes access to decent housing, health care, and education, simply because they are human. Our abilities might not be identical, and our needs surely differ, but our basic human rights are universal.”
The Unexpected Rise Of Indie Bookstores
“In 2009, the number of independent bookstores in the nation stabilized at around 1,400, and then slowly began to grow. As of last May, the number of indie bookshops in the U.S. was 1,664. Why the turnaround?”
Cincinnati International Piano Competition Gets A New Name, New Format, New Life
“The World Piano Competition will now be known as the Cincinnati World Piano Competition. The Artist Division, which has a top prize of $20,000, will be held every three years, instead of annually. And on alternate years, there will be a Young Artist Competition and an all-new Amateur Competition.”
Julio Bocca Injured In Auto Accident
The former ballet superstar, now director of the National Ballet of Uruguay, suffered “minor traumas” when his car ran off the road and flipped over about 30 miles north of Montevideo.
Can Ballet Depict The Abuse Of Native Children In Residential Schools?
“In one scene, a young residential school student receives crippling blows from a clergyman. In another, he is brutally strapped. His classmate later has her long hair sheared off. This is part of what viewers will see when Going Home Star – Truth and Reconciliation debuts at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet on Wednesday.”
Could We Reconstruct The Music Of Ancient Mesopotamia?
Composer and musicologist Stef Conner means to try. “The reason I think we can do this is that the language of the poems – their stresses, intonation, and rhythm – provides clues about musical style.”