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Barbara O Jones, Whose Acting Led A Generation Of Black Filmmakers, Has Died At 82

"Budding filmmakers like Charles Burnett, Julie Dash and Haile Gerima eschewed polished scripts and linear narratives in search of an authentic Black cinematic language. They relied on actors like Mrs. Jones, drawn from far outside the mainstream, to bring their work to life." - The New York Times

Laura Linney’s Favorite Part Of Central Park

"Bethesda Fountain was one of the first major commissioned works by a female artist . And it was built to commemorate fresh water that was brought into the city for the first time. It always takes my breath away." - The New York Times

CJ Sansom, Mystery Writer Who Created The Tudor English Detective Shardlake, Has Died At 71

"He died just days before the May 1 streaming debut of the series Shardlake, on Disney+, an adaptation of his novels starring Arthur Hughes in the title role and Sean Bean as Cromwell.” - The New York Times

Frank Stella, Master Of Artistic Reinvention, Has Died At 87

"Stella was a dominant figure in postwar American art, a restless, relentless innovator whose explorations of color and form made him an outsize presence, endlessly discussed and constantly on exhibit." - The New York Times

Salman Rushdie Describes What He Experienced During The 27 Seconds He Was Attacked With A Knife

"What I didn’t do was lose consciousness. People who were there have said that I was ... screaming with pain. Inside my head, I was not aware of the pain, ... so there was a strange disconnect between my inside feeling and my outside behaviour." - The New Statesman (UK)

Keith Haring And Defining Art And Artists

“I arrived in New York at a time when the most beautiful paintings being shown in the city were on wheels,” Haring wrote. This was 1978. His infatuation with the graffiti enveloping the city’s trains and buildings was hardly anomalous. - BookForum

How Daniel Radcliffe Got Past Harry Potter

When he’d auditioned for a British TV adaptation of David Copperfield, it was less out of great hope or ambition than because he’d been having a rough time at school and his parents (his father was a literary agent; his mother, a casting agent) thought that the experience of auditioning might boost his confidence.  - The Atlantic

Author Paul Auster Dead At 77

"Called the 'dean of American post-modernists' and 'the most meta of American meta-fictional writers,' Auster blended history, politics, genre experiments, existential quests and self-conscious references to writers and writing. ... Starting in the 1970s, Auster completed more than 30 books, translated into dozens of languages." - AP

Previously Unknown Details Of Plato’s Life And Death Discovered In Herculaneum Scroll

The document, carbonized by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE and deciphered using advanced imaging techniques, recounts the last evening of the philosopher's life and reveals his burial place as well as the point when he was sold into slavery. - The Guardian

Gérard Depardieu To Be Prosecuted For Alleged On-Set Sexual Assaults

"A trial will start in October 'for sexual assaults likely to have been committed in September 2021' against 'two victims, on the set of the film The Green Shutters,' the statement said. It did not name the alleged victims." - AP

Kerry Condon Is The Most Successful Irish Woman Actor

Did you know that? She’s happy if you don’t. - Irish Times

After 20-Odd Years, Shelley Duvall Has Returned To Acting. Here’s Where She’s Been All This Time.

She returned to her home state, Texas, and settled in a rural town not far from Austin. Yes, there have been struggles with mental illness and mobility (from a longstanding foot injury), but, at 74, she's happy to be acting again, and her director praises her work. - The New York Times

Esperanza Spalding, Chay Yew, Nataki Garrett Among Winners Of $525,000 Doris Duke Artist Awards

The MacArthur-like prizes, given annually to up to six artists working in contemporary dance, theater, and jazz, go this year to theater directors Chay Yew and Nataki Garrett, dance artists Shamel Pitts and Acosia Red Elk, and jazz musicians esperanza spalding and Miguel Zenón. - Doris Duke Foundation

Harvey Weinstein’s Rape Conviction Overturned By New York State’s Highest Court

“We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes,” said the 4-3 decision by the New York Court of Appeals. “The remedy for these egregious errors is a new trial.” - AP

Literary Critic Helen Vendler, 90

In an era dominated by poststructuralist and politically influenced literary criticism, Ms. Vendler, who taught at Harvard for more than 30 years, adhered to the old-fashioned method of close reading, going methodically line by line, word by word, to expose a poem’s inner workings and emotional roots. - The New York Times

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