“While some aspiring writers from less privileged backgrounds do find their way to graduate school, they remain substantially outnumbered. Because socioeconomic disparities in the United States have long coincided with gender and race, that factor of class goes a long way in determining the demographic makeup of grad programs. This has far-reaching consequences for who gets represented in the American literary canon that graduate-educated writers are increasingly coming to dominate.”
Tag: 11.12.14
What’s The Matter With Britain? (Hilary Mantel Has Some Ideas)
“The quality of public discourse is low. There is a disposition in this country at the moment to take offense. It seems as if it’s become a hobby for people to wait around for someone to express an opinion they don’t like and then to react violently.”
The Celebrated New Science Fiction Writer Suddenly Exposed As A Longtime, Vicious Troll
“In outing and rushing to condemn Sriduangkaew, are sci-fi fans perpetuating a sexist, even racist double standard? Or are minority voices, on the contrary, so prized in sci-fi/fantasy publishing that their fans will go to any lengths to excuse them?”
Hans Zimmer’s Score For “Interstellar”, Isn’t Just LOUD, It’s Ingenious And Brilliant
“In fact, in order to do its supporting job as a score for a film that depends on so many difficult concepts, it had to be smart: Emotional heft alone won’t cut it when your camera is headed for a singularity. Zimmer had to find musical ways of reinforcing Nolan’s astrophysics textbook of a script.”
“Bonfire Of The Inanities”: The Awl Has At The New York Times Styles Section
“Like a marathon watching of Sex and the City, a sustained reading of Styles reveals more about both the culture and New York City than you might think from a look at a single issue. … The Styles section may well be pretty stupid sometimes. It’s also a richer and more complex entity than any of us would like to believe.”
North Miami Settles Lawsuit With Former MOCA Board Members
“[The city of] North Miami will keep the majority of the 600-work permanent collection, some of which was donated by board members who left MOCA, … [as well as] $1 million in grant funds and the rights to the ‘MOCA’ name.”
Declan Donnellan Remembers Cheek By Jowl’s All-Male “As You Like It”
“To many at that time, an all-male Shakespeare production seemed like a one-off curiosity that would lead nowhere. … We were nervous opening with this strange experiment; the first performance was in Farnham and the following week was Rio. … The news slowly started to spread. Soon festivals were inviting us to perform in other countries.”
£10,000 Goldsmith Prize To Ali Smith’s “How To Be Both”
“[The novel] comes in two different versions, enabling its readers to experience its two parts – one about a Renaissance Italian fresco painter, one about a contemporary teenager whose mother has recently died – in a different order.” The award, now in its second year, recognizes fiction that experiments with or expands the novel form.
The Artist Who Made Flawless Replications Her Medium
“Sturtevant, who died earlier this year at age 89, did far more than replicate, especially after she turned to video in the 1990s. But her chameleon-like renditions of other artists’ work defined her career – engendering violent criticism in the 1960s, and finding wide recognition only later in life.”
New York’s Great, Citywide Underground Art Museum – The Subway System
“Setting aside one percent of the capital budget for every new station or renovation, over the years the MTA has invited over 100 individual artists, from Roy Liechtenstein to Xenobia Bailey, to liven up commutes along the subway system, Long Island Rail Road, and Metro-North Railroad.”