Stories

As The Knicks Win, All Of New York City Becomes A Dance Stage

“Of all the joy blooming throughout the Knicks championship run, the most visible has been the jubilant transfer of energy from body to body.” - The New York Times

Even In The UK, Music Festival Central, Costs Are Causing Collapse

Womad in Glasgow “is the 20th casualty so far this year as small and independent festival operators enter another tough summer facing myriad challenges, from belt-tightening consumers becoming more picky about how they spend their cash, to soaring energy and labour costs.” - The Guardian (UK)

If People Aren’t Reading, Why Are Bookstores Thriving?

“The bookstore boom is a story about a certain educated, culturally aspirational demographic doing what it has always done, while the literacy crisis unfolds elsewhere, namely in under-resourced schools, rural communities, and households without the discretionary income to browse a charming bookshop on a Saturday afternoon.” - LitHub

Jane Yolen, Award-Winning Author Of Some 450 Books, Has Died At 87

"Yolen never encountered a genre she didn’t like; among her early books was a history of kites. Yet running through almost all her writing was a strong through-line of deep psychological insight and a sense of wonder.” - The New York Times

A Spielberg Alien Movie Is Simply Irresistible In The Summer

According to analysts, it’s “an encouraging sign for what could be a big summer for theaters.” - Los Angeles Times

Ruth Ozeki Knows The Power Of A Good Book

And that good book is Charlotte’s Web. - The Guardian (UK)

If You Want To Read More Books This Summer, Here’s How To Do It

“I have this daydream where I go to the park and read under a tree. The sun is shining. It's not too hot. The ground beneath me is comfortable. I have snacks on hand, I'm hydrated, and I am captivated by the book in front of me.” - NPR

When Next You Go To Donate Blood, The Chicago Symphony May Be Playing The Soundtrack

There’s a new way to distract oneself while donating blood - to play immersive virtual reality games. And the games's soundtracks? “Abbott commissioned the Chicago Symphony Orchestra ... to record them in a whirlwind, one-day recording session in the spring.” - The New York Times

How David Hockney Celebrated, Sometimes Mischeviously, Gay Life

“What’s so revolutionary about Hockney’s paintings is not just that they portray male nudity and desire, but scenes of domesticity: men swimming, showering and brushing their teeth together.” - The Guardian (UK)

Dito Van Reigersberg, Philly’s Beloved Theatre Founder And Performer, Has Died At 53

“Antic yet elegant, Mr. van Reigersberg was closely associated with two important strands of 21st-century performance: devised physical theater — in which an ensemble works together to create a script through improvisation — and a playful, let-the-chest-hair-show take on drag.” - The New York Times

The Sensual, Forbidden Pleasures Of Touching Art

“One of the cardinal rules of museum-going is that art should be enjoyed from a comfortable distance and never touched. However, in the 1960s, a cohort of artists began inviting audiences to interact with, and thus alter, their works.” - Aeon

This Los Angeles Museum Knows How WWII Shaped Global Soccer

As the men’s World Cup gets underway, LA’s Holocaust Museum has a show on the “beautiful game” that "shines a light on the important but largely overlooked relationship between Jewish life and the global game” - and how WWII changed everything. - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Building A Jazz Trilogy Based On Black British History

Renell Shaw: “Our story is of growth, and it’s a love story, too. I mean, my grandmother came over here from Jamaica looking for work, and my grandfather came over to chase my grandmother!” - The Guardian (UK)

Could You Memorize All Of Shakespeare’s 154 Sonnets?

This actor did, though he adds, “When I first had the idea, oh, yeah, I'm going to learn them all. I … I did not realize how much work it actually was.” - NPR

Debut Authors Take Home Women’s Prize For Fiction, Nonfiction

The fiction award is well-known (as is, in this case, the award winner), but the Women’s Prize added the nonfiction award in 2023 to help redress an imbalance in nonfiction award winners in the UK. - The Guardian (UK)

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