Joseph Epstein: “Rich literary periods are often followed by stagnant ones. We in the United States, but not we alone, are now going through such a stagnant period. What is the last novel you can think of that caused a genuine stir?” – National Review
Tag: 12.03.20
What August Wilson’s 10-Play Pittsburgh Cycle Did For American Culture
“He introduced a frank, original view of the nation onto the stage. … His characters collide with the expectations of white America, but they also collide with one another, in itself radically humanizing — to have ordinary Black characters with different views and dispositions, as opposed to sharing a monolithic experience — in an era when few such stories found their way to Broadway. But Wilson also bestowed Black audiences with a different gift: a reconsideration of time, measured in and by the lives of the African-Americans living it.” – T — The New York Times Style Magazine
France Won’t Expand Program To Give Youth €500 To Spend On Culture
“On Monday night, the French senate put a proposed increase in funding for Culture Pass, an app that gives 18-year-olds access to a €500 ($607) credit to spend on cultural experiences, on the chopping block — and the senate moved to put the money elsewhere.” – Artnet
Does Cancel Culture Even Exist? (A History)
“So much has been written about cancel culture in the past year that weariness sets in just reading the words. What it is, what to call it and whether it even exists are all in dispute. The term is shambolically applied to incidents both online and off that range from vigilante justice to hostile debate to stalking, intimidation and harassment.” – The New York Times
Stop Trying To Understand Contemporary Poetry
Critic Ron Charles says the key is simply to read it – perhaps out loud – and enjoy. “Gradually poets I’d once considered impenetrable filled me with awe instead of bafflement. Rather than trying to manufacture some strait-laced summary, I followed their twisting ironies and witty observations.” – Washington Post
Thelma Pepper, Canada’s Photographer Of The Prairies, 100
Pepper didn’t pick up a camera until she was 60 – and then didn’t waste a day. “As an outsider coming to the Prairies, Pepper was moved by her subject’s stories of how families struggled in the early days on the farm and how women did so many small, little heartfelt things to hold their families and communities together. ‘She just wanted to give those women their due that she felt they had not received during the course of their lifetimes.'” – CBC
By The Numbers, Gender Inequities In Opera Are ‘Staggering,’ Says New Study
The numbers are truly, deeply bad for women in opera. “Approximately seven out of 10 voice and opera graduates are women, but since the most popular operas in the canon have many more roles for men, female singers are much less likely to be given career opportunities, and more likely to go into debt. Female classical performers also earn on average 29 percent less than their male counterparts.” – Boston Globe
So Much Christmas Carol
This is the year when you could start now, watch a different Christmas Carol every day (streaming, obviously), and keep right on through to 2021. – American Theatre
Spotify’s ‘Wrapped’ Function Is Actually About Grift
The news came up on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok; in text messages, surprised WhatsApp screenshots, and amused or horrified phone calls. But it wasn’t news at all. Spotify’s “Wrapped” function is actually a big ad for … Spotify, which “bet that its users, flattered by being designated top fans, would share their statuses on social media, spreading the gospel of not just Spotify in general but specifically the virtue of spending thousands of hours on Spotify. It’s unequivocally worked.” – Slate
Could Museums (And Other Cultural Institutions) Better Use Their Investments For The Greater Good?
Through “negative screening,” institutions can exclude companies for potential investment that are not aligned with an institution’s values or show deficiencies in their environmental, social, and governance practices. Instead, the report suggests, they could opt to invest in businesses like ethical fashion or sustainable food, or even real estate projects that are affordable and target the creative economy, like artist studios. – Hyperallergic