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The Days When Charles Dickens Was Known As Boz

The writer was so popular that “a ‘Boz Ball,’ attended by 3,000 people, was held in New York in 1842 to welcome Dickens to America.” - LitHub

Author Kaveh Akbar Reflects On Making Art During War

“Every Iranian that you know has people in Tehran, people around Iran who are doing poorly,” the author of Martyr! says. For instance, his aunt with Stage Four cancer can’t get her desperately necessary daily chemo. - NPR

Actor Jay Ellis Found Inspiration In Colson Whitehead’s Books

The star of movies, and now Off-Broadway, says, "I feel like I did not understand or see myself in fiction until I read him. Sag Harbor was the first thing I read. I’ve been a huge fan since.” - The New York Times

There Are Just So Many Bros On Broadway Right Now

One (male) audience member: “We want to see a good, solid male psyche. We want to see the full extent of the male experience. … You don’t always get that in theater.” - Washington Post (MSN)

Pixar, Once The Golden Child, Is Having A Very Rough Time With Its Original Movies

What in the heck is going on? Since the pandemic, “while audiences often say they want to see new stories, box office ticket sales show they gravitate toward sequels, reboots and other familiar fare.” - Los Angeles Times

Instead Of Replacing Journalists, Can Targeted AI Use Help Indie News Sites Get Better?

Minnesota’s nonprofit Sahan Journal "has been working on ways to support internal workflows with AI. Now, it’s even testing a custom ChatGPT bot to help pitch Sahan Journal to prospective advertisers and sponsors.” - Nieman Lab

A New Proposal For The US At The Venice Biennale Is, Uh, Not Great

“With its fascist posturing, suggestion of militarized violence, laser light shows, and relentless ego-buffing in the form of giant statuary, it’s like World War Z but with fascists instead of zombies (and also on the side of the zombies).” - Hyperallergic

Marlee Matlin Won An Oscar, But Had To Wait Years For More Good Work In Hollywood

And - despite CODA co-star Troy Kotsur’s Oscar win in 2022 - that hasn’t changed. “'It’s hard to find work,’ she said, but still insists: ‘This is something I love to do. This is a business that I love being in. I love acting. I love it all.’” - The Guardian (UK)

An Underground Ballet Revival In Ukraine Gives Relief From Relentless War

“In the dark, brick-walled basement of the Kharkiv National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, a dance company has created a space protected from drones and bombs where audiences can lose themselves in performances of classic ballets.” - Globe and Mail

Massive Stolen Sculptures Recovered In Anaheim

After a mysterious warehouse heist last weekend, sculptures worth about $2 million were recovered on Friday night at a private house. - KTLA

Seattle’s Low-Income Artspace Seems To Be Falling Apart

“Artspace, the Minneapolis nonprofit that owns the lofts, sold the city on a vision: affordable housing that would help retain Seattle’s creative soul as redevelopment and rising costs were driving out artists. But the dream shattered.” - Seattle Times

Money And Status Aren’t Everything, Right?

Right? Uh … TV creators? - Chicago Tribune

Carefully, Carefully Trying To Adapt James Baldwin For The Stage

Adapting Giovanni’s Room hasn’t been easy. “The room is as much a metaphorical space as it is a physical location, marked by the feelings and experiences of the two lovers. So how do you replicate such a setting, so viscerally described?” - The New York Times

K-Dramas Are Actually A Cry For Help

“As the most popular Korean dramas are desperately trying to tell us, you can’t fix a first-world problem when crucial areas of your society are still stuck in an outdated mentality.” - The New York Times

The US Administration Has Effectively Killed The Voice Of America

“Once a Cold War-era powerhouse for U.S. diplomacy, the U.S. Agency for Global Media has been gutted under a Trump executive order — slashing ... 85% of its workforce — in a move Kari Lake calls a win for taxpayers and critics warn is a death knell for press freedom.” - Salon

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