Today's Stories

What It’s Like To Be A Professional Scare Actor During Halloween Season

Lyndon Laveaux is one of around 400 scare actors working at the Queen Mary's Dark Harbor in Long Beach. He plays the Captain, the undead master of ceremonies. “I just love it,” he says. “It's like an adult summer camp and I appreciate the fans, I appreciate this community.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

Horror Books And Bookstores Are Proliferating

Horror book sales are up 39 percent this year over last, according to Circana BookScan. The market is growing: 5.1 million books were sold in 2025, up from 3.2 million in 2021. - The New York Times

Despite Taliban’s Prohibition, Masters Hope To Keep Traditional Afghan Music Alive

“For many, music is in their blood. It has flowed through their families for generations, and the thought of never playing again is unbearable. Every so often, some pull out their instruments and play in secret. A knock at the door could mean danger. Still, they play.” - AP

American Pavillion At The Venice Biennale Is $1M Short. Art Transport Now A Problem

Despite months of controversy, the United States managed to get Alma Allen‘s enormous sculptures to Venice for this year’s Biennale. Getting them home, however, is proving more difficult. - ARTnews

House Republicans Demand Details Of Smithsonian Museum Curation

“The Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency is concerned that the Smithsonian Institution (Smithsonian) does not properly review proposed exhibits in its museums,” says a letter to outgoing Smithsonian secretary Lonnie Bunch III, penned by subcommittee chairman Tim Burchett of Tennessee along with Georgia’s Brian Jack. - ARTnews

The Shockingly Fantastic Imagery Of The Met’s New “Lincoln” Opera

At a moment when film or TV versions of novels often end up, at best, as decent airplane watches, opera, as the excellent Lincoln in the Bardo illustrates, has the potential to create something bolder and more bizarre. - The Atlantic

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Your eyes on the world through a culture lens

The Kennedy Center’s Perplexing Choice Of Architect For $257M Renovations

The firm — which employs just 50 people, including eight architects, according to an industry database — generally does work that is a fraction of the scale and expense of the job. One if its most ambitious projects, according to its online portfolio, was a high school renovation completed in 2016 that cost about $40 million....

Meet The People Who Choose The Poems In New York Subway Cars

Anyone who has taken the subway has likely come across Poetry in Motion, which pairs poems with artwork. … Tina Vaz, the head of the MTA’s Arts & Design team, and Matt Brogan, the executive director of the Poetry Society of America, are the big decision makers behind the Poetry in Motion program. - Literary Hub

Inside The Books Of The Mega-Galleries

Even for the biggest blue-chip galleries, selling art is a tough business. - Artnet

$6.5M Donation To Phoenix Symphony In Jeopardy

A new $6.5 million donation to the financially troubled Phoenix Symphony is in legal jeopardy after the orchestra announced last week it would suspend its season. - Arizona Republic

Northern Arkansas Has Become A Cultural Destination. The Culture Is Changing

Bentonville’s population has nearly doubled. The town is bursting with new activity: award-winning restaurants, shopping, boutique hotels, condominiums, offices and arguably the most sophisticated bike trail network in the country. But prices are bursting too: A single-family home now hovers around $490,000. The average rent has nearly tripled, to $2,000 a month from about $800. -...

Orlando Ballet Artistic Directors Jorden And Lisa Morris Announce Retirement

Jorden Morris, a choreographer and former principal dancer at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, joined Orlando Ballet as in 2020 Artist-in-Residence and was named Artistic Director at the end of 2021. Lisa Thorn Morris, currently associate artistic director, joined the company in 2015 and served in several leadership roles. - WESH (Orlando)

Music Giant UMG Posts Big Revenue Growth

According to UMG, its Q3 growth was primarily driven by “subscription revenue growth, including pricing benefits from Streaming 2.0 agreements”, “strong physical sales”, “higher ad-supported streaming revenue”, and “increased Music Publishing digital revenue”. - Music Business Worldwide

Sales Of CDs And CD Players Are Soaring

CDs appear to be having a resurgence. John Lewis said searches for CD players are up 96% since July, while another report on trends in music and film this year found that CD sales are up 16%. - The Guardian

Major Culture Shift: Private Equity Is Buying Up Small Businesses

Deal by deal, ownership is being extracted from the thousands of communities where businesses were built to the handful of cities where capital is already concentrated.  - The New York Times

Another Posthumous Concert Hall Design By Frank Gehry

“Expected to open in January 2027 …, the Youth Orchestra Abu Dhabi will contain a 600-seat concert hall and 18 rehearsal rooms. The orchestra building, designed by Gehry before he died in December last year, will have a more pared-back appearance compared to the fluid, organic forms for which the architect is famed.” - Dezeen

China’s First AI-Generated Feature Film Is Not A Smash Hit

“The film, the sci-fi thriller Sanxingdui: Future Past, was released last week and only grossed an estimated $198,000. … With 10,000-plus opening-day screenings, Future Past marks the first longform AI film to get a true wide release with reported box office numbers in a major territory.” - The Hollywood Reporter

“Adapting And Settling”: SMU DataArts 2026 Report On State Of US Nonprofit Arts Sector

“While the sector may be moving past pandemic-era volatility, reduced earned revenue and persistent inflation over the last several years leave fewer resources available to the cultural organizations that bring music, theatre, art, and shared experiences to our communities. Even so, many organizations are maintaining a financial surplus.” - SMU DataArts

“One Shared Collection”: MoMA, Pompidou Centre And Hong Kong’s M+ Announce Unprecedented Partnership

“At the heart of the alliance is an agreement that the institutions will treat their holdings as a shared collection. … This alliance differs from past models such as traveling exhibitions, co-organized shows, and collaborations on specific projects … in that it is a long-term commitment to building programs together from the ground up.” - ARTnews

Chair Of Oberlin’s Studio Art Department And His Wife Murdered, Allegedly By His Son

Pipo Nguyen-Duy, 64, and his wife, Tran Thi Phong, 54, were found shot to death in their home near the Ohio college. Daniel Jones aka Asia Nguyen-Duy, Pipo’s son, is being held on $3 million bail. - ABC News

By Topic

Major Culture Shift: Private Equity Is Buying Up Small Businesses

Deal by deal, ownership is being extracted from the thousands of communities where businesses were built to the handful of cities where capital is already concentrated.  - The New York Times

How Our Brains Cope With Uncertainty

Systems fail; unanticipated difficulties occur; things break or rot. To cope with this reality, philosophical and religious traditions such as Buddhism and Stoicism have long focused on transience, unpredictability, and the inevitability of change and loss. - Scientific American

Don’t Forget: Technology That Serves Creativity

We live in a golden age of digital creativity. Forget A.I.: you, yourself, can record an album from your sofa, or curate a photo-essay on the train. In that spirit, here are some of my favorite creative digital tools. - The New Yorker

Why Is There So Much Beauty In The World?

“There’s too much beauty to be accounted for by simple utility,” argues Nicholas Humphrey. - MIT Press Reader

The V&A’s Argument Against AI Slop

Why are humans so driven to make things? In our age of A.I. slop, the V. & A.’s devotion to physical objects is a tonic. And if two new buildings seem like overkill, think of all those data centers. - The New Yorker

How To Defeat The Style Choices Your Algorithms Point You To

Rather than cycling through distinct eras sequentially as Laver predicted, social media feeds flatten time entirely. Decades of vintage subcultures and instant micro-aesthetics are collapsed into the same endless scroll, allowing a 1990s minimalist silhouette to coexist alongside a week-old “whimsymaxxing” viral trend. - The Conversation

The Kennedy Center’s Perplexing Choice Of Architect For $257M Renovations

The firm — which employs just 50 people, including eight architects, according to an industry database — generally does work that is a fraction of the scale and expense of the job. One if its most ambitious projects, according to its online portfolio, was a high school renovation completed in 2016 that cost about...

Northern Arkansas Has Become A Cultural Destination. The Culture Is Changing

Bentonville’s population has nearly doubled. The town is bursting with new activity: award-winning restaurants, shopping, boutique hotels, condominiums, offices and arguably the most sophisticated bike trail network in the country. But prices are bursting too: A single-family home now hovers around $490,000. The average rent has nearly tripled, to $2,000 a month from about...

“Adapting And Settling”: SMU DataArts 2026 Report On State Of US Nonprofit Arts Sector

“While the sector may be moving past pandemic-era volatility, reduced earned revenue and persistent inflation over the last several years leave fewer resources available to the cultural organizations that bring music, theatre, art, and shared experiences to our communities. Even so, many organizations are maintaining a financial surplus.” - SMU DataArts

On The Ballot: Philly Voters Will Decide Fate Of City’s Arts And Culture Office

For the first time, we have a chance to free Philly’s office of arts and culture from the whims of the mayor, and make it part of the city charter. - Broad Street Review

A Humanities Course Has Become Harvard’s Hottest Ticket

Hum 10, as it’s commonly known, has become the surprise hit of Harvard’s academic lineup and something of a campus institution. Demand to get into the class has surged, fueled by word-of-mouth from “Hum Alums” who talk it up on social media. - The Wall Street Journal

Neighbors Near LA’s Hollywood Sign Have Had Enough

They argue the city is responsible for nuisance conditions on public property in part because 15 years ago a councilman decided to clear some brush to create a viewing spot near their homes. That brought the crowds, they say, and the city has ignored years of complaints. - Los Angeles Times

Despite Taliban’s Prohibition, Masters Hope To Keep Traditional Afghan Music Alive

“For many, music is in their blood. It has flowed through their families for generations, and the thought of never playing again is unbearable. Every so often, some pull out their instruments and play in secret. A knock at the door could mean danger. Still, they play.” - AP

The Shockingly Fantastic Imagery Of The Met’s New “Lincoln” Opera

At a moment when film or TV versions of novels often end up, at best, as decent airplane watches, opera, as the excellent Lincoln in the Bardo illustrates, has the potential to create something bolder and more bizarre. - The Atlantic

$6.5M Donation To Phoenix Symphony In Jeopardy

A new $6.5 million donation to the financially troubled Phoenix Symphony is in legal jeopardy after the orchestra announced last week it would suspend its season. - Arizona Republic

Music Giant UMG Posts Big Revenue Growth

According to UMG, its Q3 growth was primarily driven by “subscription revenue growth, including pricing benefits from Streaming 2.0 agreements”, “strong physical sales”, “higher ad-supported streaming revenue”, and “increased Music Publishing digital revenue”. - Music Business Worldwide

Sales Of CDs And CD Players Are Soaring

CDs appear to be having a resurgence. John Lewis said searches for CD players are up 96% since July, while another report on trends in music and film this year found that CD sales are up 16%. - The Guardian

Another Posthumous Concert Hall Design By Frank Gehry

“Expected to open in January 2027 …, the Youth Orchestra Abu Dhabi will contain a 600-seat concert hall and 18 rehearsal rooms. The orchestra building, designed by Gehry before he died in December last year, will have a more pared-back appearance compared to the fluid, organic forms for which the architect is famed.” -...

American Pavillion At The Venice Biennale Is $1M Short. Art Transport Now A Problem

Despite months of controversy, the United States managed to get Alma Allen‘s enormous sculptures to Venice for this year’s Biennale. Getting them home, however, is proving more difficult. - ARTnews

House Republicans Demand Details Of Smithsonian Museum Curation

“The Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency is concerned that the Smithsonian Institution (Smithsonian) does not properly review proposed exhibits in its museums,” says a letter to outgoing Smithsonian secretary Lonnie Bunch III, penned by subcommittee chairman Tim Burchett of Tennessee along with Georgia’s Brian Jack. - ARTnews

Inside The Books Of The Mega-Galleries

Even for the biggest blue-chip galleries, selling art is a tough business. - Artnet

“One Shared Collection”: MoMA, Pompidou Centre And Hong Kong’s M+ Announce Unprecedented Partnership

“At the heart of the alliance is an agreement that the institutions will treat their holdings as a shared collection. … This alliance differs from past models such as traveling exhibitions, co-organized shows, and collaborations on specific projects … in that it is a long-term commitment to building programs together from the ground up.”...

Hirshhorn Museum’s Sculpture Garden Reopens After Four-Year Revamp

“The 1.3-acre space was designed by artist and architect Hiroshi Sugimoto to better integrate with the National Mall, and it includes new works and spaces for education and programming. … It's the biggest update to the museum since it opened in 1974, almost doubling the number of sculptures on display.” - Axios

Italy’s Renowned Art Squad Is Training Colleagues In Africa To Fight Antiquities Trafficking

Italy‘s National School of Heritage and Cultural Activities and the École du Patrimoine Africain in Porto-Novo, Benin, are collaborating on a specialized training course, the first of its kind, with faculty from the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, popularly known as the Carabinieri Art Squad. - ARTnews

Horror Books And Bookstores Are Proliferating

Horror book sales are up 39 percent this year over last, according to Circana BookScan. The market is growing: 5.1 million books were sold in 2025, up from 3.2 million in 2021. - The New York Times

Meet The People Who Choose The Poems In New York Subway Cars

Anyone who has taken the subway has likely come across Poetry in Motion, which pairs poems with artwork. … Tina Vaz, the head of the MTA’s Arts & Design team, and Matt Brogan, the executive director of the Poetry Society of America, are the big decision makers behind the Poetry in Motion program. -...

A.S. Byatt’s Papers Are Now Open At The British Library

"The archive allows researchers to follow Byatt as she assembles the raw material of her fiction, tests ideas and repeatedly questions whether they will work." - The Guardian (UK)

Life Magazine Will Return To Print Just In Time For Thanksgiving

“Life magazine is making its long-awaited return to print on Nov. 23, exactly 90 years after its landmark 1936 debut, with a $45 quarterly publication that will forgo traditional print advertising as part of a broader push into digital content, video and live experiences.” - TheWrap (Yahoo!)

One Of Italy’s Largest Daily Papers Expands Into The US, In English

La Stampa, a nationally- and regionally-focused outlet headquartered in Turin, is opening La Stampa USA as an online publication aimed at an Italian-American readership. The newsroom currently has five employees in New York and two in Washington DC and plans to hire contributors around the country. - Press Gazette (UK)

How Politeness Has Shaped Our Language

Requests that were once directly stated as imperatives were now couched with indirectness as merely suggestions or questions: “Shut the window,” became “Could you please shut the window?” And, in addition to saying “thanks,” responding with an acknowledgment of that thanks, such as “you’re welcome,” became routine. - Time

China’s First AI-Generated Feature Film Is Not A Smash Hit

“The film, the sci-fi thriller Sanxingdui: Future Past, was released last week and only grossed an estimated $198,000. … With 10,000-plus opening-day screenings, Future Past marks the first longform AI film to get a true wide release with reported box office numbers in a major territory.” - The Hollywood Reporter

Horror Movies Exploit A Weakness In Human Visual Perception To Deliver Some Powerful Scares

A cognitive psychologist explains the phenomenon of inattentional blindness and how filmmakers take advantage of it. - The Conversation

Reaching More People, But Having Less Influence

Are we becoming better at reaching people, but worse at helping them decide what is worth their time and money? - BachTrack

YouTube Is On A Roll: Revenue Grows Nine Percent

YouTube ad revenue grew 9% in the third quarter to hit $11.2 billion, but parent Alphabet‘s stock dropped after overall financials undershot Wall Street expectations. - Deadline

Filmmaker Alexander Payne Sued For Alleged Copyright Violations In “The Holdovers”

Simon Stephenson claims that, for The Holdovers — which received five Oscar nominations in 2024, with a win for supporting actress Da'Vine Joy Randolph — director Payne and screenwriter David Hemingson stole plot points, characters and structure from Stephenson’s screenplay Frisco, which he had shopped to Payne in 2013 and 2019. - The Hollywood...

Hollywood Is Buying Up Short Stories

Addison Duffy, an agent at United Talent Agency who helped negotiate the “Understudy” contract, said that short stories are a form “that almost every single agent in our group is selling in a big way.” Their bite-size format appeals to busy studio executives facing mountains of scripts. - The New York Times

Orlando Ballet Artistic Directors Jorden And Lisa Morris Announce Retirement

Jorden Morris, a choreographer and former principal dancer at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, joined Orlando Ballet as in 2020 Artist-in-Residence and was named Artistic Director at the end of 2021. Lisa Thorn Morris, currently associate artistic director, joined the company in 2015 and served in several leadership roles. - WESH (Orlando)

Public Spaces In Transit Hubs Are Being Used As Dance Studios

“Around the world, transit hubs and other public spaces are becoming makeshift dance venues, used for rehearsals, battles, and filming content for social media. But these de facto studios offer more than just free rehearsal space. They’re also becoming centers of gravity for the dance community.” - Dance Magazine

Now That Choreographers Can Be Members Of SAG-AFTRA, What’s Changing For Them?

Well, for a start, they have negotiable rates, along with the pension and health contributions and the protected working conditions (such as guaranteed breaks) that dancers working in film and TV have had since 1992. - Dance Magazine

Meet ABT’s Youngest-Ever Choreographer

Brady Farrar, now 21, is still recognized by some fans from his six-week appearance on Dance Moms when he was 14. He entered ABT as an apprentice in 2024 and joined the corps last year but began choreographing at age 15. His Trio Élégiaque, commissioned by ABT, debuts this week. - The New York...

As The National Ballet Of Canada Turns 75, It Demonstrates Both Artistry And Guts

But "is it a Canadian ballet company or just a first-rate ballet company based in Canada?" - The New York Times

Why Millennials Are So Into This Movie Star’s Turn On Dancing With The Stars

"It’s rare for Dancing With the Stars to attract a star of Stiles’s wattage. The show is hard, humbling work." - The New York Times

What It’s Like To Be A Professional Scare Actor During Halloween Season

Lyndon Laveaux is one of around 400 scare actors working at the Queen Mary's Dark Harbor in Long Beach. He plays the Captain, the undead master of ceremonies. “I just love it,” he says. “It's like an adult summer camp and I appreciate the fans, I appreciate this community.” - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

After A Hiatus, Williamstown Theatre Festival Regroups By Retrenching

After an interesting and very messy experiment with programming and organization in 2025 and going dark for summer 2026 (not to mention a tumultuous few years before that), the festival has given up its planned expansion into year-round activity, shrunk its full-time staff to three, and is planning a smaller 2027 event. - BroadwayWorld

An Architecture Critic Looks At The Yard, London’s New Theatre Built Out Of Scavenged And Repurposed Materials

Oliver Wainwright: “It is a tour de force of how to do a lot with a little. It reads like a collage of its context: a shed clad with corrugated fibre-cement sheeting, rising from graffiti-covered warehouse walls on one side and framed by a new brick gable end on the other.” - The Guardian

Helping Actors Keep Their Medical Insurance

For an actor to remain insured through SAG-AFTRA, they must typically make a minimum amount of money from on-screen work and residuals. Leveraging his Instagram following of almost 750,000, Cheyenne Jackson began posting headshots of performers, their biographies and how many dollars away each was from crossing that threshold, which this year is $28,090....

Shakespeare’s Globe Artistic Director Michelle Terry To Step Down Late Next Year

“During her (decade) in the role, more than 2,000 actors will have worked with the organisation across 77 productions, which are expected to have been seen by more than 2.3 million people from over 190 countries by the end of her tenure.” - WhatsOnStage (UK)

Center Theatre Group Partners With YMCA To Bring Theater All Over Los Angeles

The program, called “Every Age, Every Stage,” will include free workshops led by theater professionals at local Y branches, mentorship in stagecraft, design and production for young adult members, and free tickets to select mainstage performances. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Chair Of Oberlin’s Studio Art Department And His Wife Murdered, Allegedly By His Son

Pipo Nguyen-Duy, 64, and his wife, Tran Thi Phong, 54, were found shot to death in their home near the Ohio college. Daniel Jones aka Asia Nguyen-Duy, Pipo’s son, is being held on $3 million bail. - ABC News

Elke Sommer, Exotic Blonde Beauty Of 1960s And ‘70s Hollywood, Has Died At 85

“With expressive almond eyes and golden locks, often styled in a beehive, Sommer worked with some of the biggest stars of the time, including Paul Newman in The Prize, Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther film A Shot in the Dark, and James Garner and Dick Van Dyke in The Art of Love.”  -...

Patrick Stewart, 86

The death, from Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia, was announced on social media. - The New York Times

Actress Barbara Barrie, Once One Of Hollywood’s Favorite Moms, Is Dead At 95

Though she was also active onstage, she was better known for screen work and amassed over 120 credits, including on TV series Barney Miller and Suddenly Susan (as Brooke Shields’s grandmother), and films such as One Potato, Two Potato (Best Actress at Cannes) and Breaking Away (Oscar nomination). - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Pianist Stephen Kovacevich, 86

“(He was) known as much for his name changes – Bishop and Bishop-Kovacevich – as for his emotionally charged playing of Beethoven, his sparkling interpretation of Bartók and his elegant line in Schubert. A Kovacevich recital was invariably a meaty affair, filled with passion, wildness and temptation, somewhat like (his) personal life.” - The...

Soprano Judith Blegen Has Died At 85

She was one of the Metropolitan Opera’s favorite light lyric sopranos in the 1970s and ‘80s, known especially for her Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, and Adina in L’elisir d’amore opposite Pavarotti as Nemorino. - OperaWire

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As The National Ballet Of Canada Turns 75, It Demonstrates Both Artistry And Guts

But "is it a Canadian ballet company or just a first-rate ballet company based in Canada?" - The New York Times

The Owners Of Elvis’s Music Catalogue Are Suing Anthropic

“The Elvis plaintiffs bring this action to enforce these exclusive rights against the defendant that has built its entire business model based on copyright infringement at a scale never seen before," according to the lawsuit. - The New York Times

Sofia Coppola On Finishing What Her Mother Eleanor Started

"'It’s like the opposite of Hearts of Darkness,' Sofia said. 'In a way it’s sort of a nice counterpoint because that movie’s so macho and masculine and this is so feminine.' And it’s also true to what really happened." - Seattle Times (AP)

Some Questions For And About The Suddenly Shuttered Phoenix Symphony

For instance: "Why it hired a new music director ... amid much fanfare last March; whether any employees other than CEO Peter Kjome will be paid during the suspension; or what, specifically, is being done to help the musicians and staff whose pay has been cut off." - Phoenix New Times

How Lance Oppenheim Gets Extraordinary, Un-Documentary-Like Scenes Like The Ones In “You Can See Everything”

"Being vulnerable with his subjects generally inspires them to return the favor. ... He’s seen subjects go to trial, face romantic rejection, and lose their jobs on-camera; he’s also been holed up in a dingy motel bathroom while two of them had sex in the other room." - New York Magazine (MSN)

Ann Hornaday, Longtime Washington Post Film Critic, Is Dead At 66

“(She) brought a casual, if knowledgeable, approach to her reviews, writing more from the viewpoint of a popcorn-eating moviegoer than from the lofty perch of a scholar of cinema. She wrote hundreds of reviews ... over more than 20 years and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in criticism in 2008.” - The Washington Post...

John Berger Is The Antidote To The Scroll

"It’s his essays about art and artists that matter most to me now. Reading them, you often feel you’re standing next to him in the museum or even looking through his eyes at a painting or a sculpture. You pay attention to his attention." - The New York Times

If We Force Chatbots Into Third Person, Will People Stop Thinking Of Them As Sentient?

Sherry Turkle: An AI is "really not afraid of death, it’s not afraid of illness, it's not afraid of pain, it doesn't love its children, and it doesn't care if you kill yourself or make dinner." - Wired

Creating Art In A Time Of International And Creative Crisis

Elif Shafak's latest book "arose out of our own historical moment, which Shafak has dubbed 'The age of three As: Angst, Anger and AI.'" - The Guardian (UK)

Isabel Allende, Writing Under A Pseudonym, Wins A Major Literary Prize In Spain

"The prize is open to unpublished manuscripts, with the option of submitting under a pseudonym, and Allende entered under the name Luz Ventura, with the fictional title Los que faltan." - The Guardian (UK)

TikTok Has Banned The Musk Documentary Advertiser From The Platform

Hunh: "Distributor Bleecker Street was informed Friday afternoon a 'permanent suspension' was coming regarding any ads it tried to buy, and the company was unable to do so shortly after." - The Hollywood Reporter

Indie Publisher New Directions Keeps Finding Nobel Prize Winners

"In an era when corporate publishers dominate a rapidly consolidating industry, New Directions has remained independent and continued its long tradition of seeking out and nurturing some of the world’s most seminal authors." - The New York Times

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