The Contemporary Novel Might Not Look Familiar, But It’s Thriving

The familiar world becomes alien within a single lifespan. In such a world of relentless evolution, art is perpetually in danger of being outstripped, every “realism” of describing a vanished reality. Just as capitalism erases difference to make way for a homogenous global anti-culture, artistic traditions are swept aside, denounced as irrelevant almost as soon as they have established themselves. Today, Ezra Pound’s modernist command to Make It New! sounds like nothing so much as a corporate slogan for Apple or Huawei. Capitalism and the avant garde check each other out from across the room, seeing much to admire.

Former Opera Company Chief Pleads Not Guilty To Sex-With-A-Minor Charges

Timothy Sexton, the former artistic director and CEO of the State Opera of South Australia in Adelaide, was indicted on four charges for incidents alleged to have occurred between 1988 and ’91. He had worked in various capacities with SOSA for 20 years when he took the company’s helm in 2011; he resigned last year for unspecified personal reasons.