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America’s Small Independent Presses Build Back After Their Major Distributor Collapsed

"A little more than three months after Small Press Distribution abruptly closed, leaving some 400 independent presses without a trade distributor, publishers and distributors alike are moving forward even as damage assessment continues. Approximately 25% of the stranded publishers have found new distributors." - Publishers Weekly

AI Is Showing Us What’s Similar Among All Lifeforms

Across that chasm of difference between bats and seals, whales and humans, the unlikeliest new intelligence of computers have been able to discover more that’s similar than might have once been supposed, though even Melville could recognize in the whale a kindred creature “both ponderous and profound." - 3 Quarks Daily

Philadelphia Plans A $100 Million Makeover Of The Avenue Of The Arts

The project will include traffic-calming measures, new street fixtures and lots of lush plantings. The goal: "To get more people excited about South Broad (Street) and to attract more economic development … to give people a reason to come down and visit." - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

Russian Playwright And Director Sentenced To Six Years For “Justifying Terrorism”

Prosecutors charged director Yevgeniya Berkovich and writer Svetlana Petriychuk over their 2021 play Finist the Brave Falcon, a cautionary tale about Russian women who were lured to marry ISIS militants in Syria and imprisoned upon returning to Russia. The production won two Golden Masks, Russia's highest theatre awards. - BBC

Afghan Women Do Online What The Taliban Won’t Let Them Do In Real Life

Barred from high school and college, they attend online classes, learn foreign languages with chatbots and e-books, and trade cryptocurrencies hoping for financial independence. They try to make up for closed cinemas and women's gyms and banned music with YouTube’s comedy shows, fitness classes and music videos. - The Washington Post (MSN)

His Saudi Cartoon Series Was A Hit. Even As He Was Publicly Celebrated, He Was Convicted Of Promoting Extremism.

As the conservative kingdom loosened up, Abdulaziz Almuzaini's show Masameer (often likened to South Park) got a fan base and he was feted as a star of Saudi Arabia's nascent entertainment industry. Yet he was convicted of promoting the very extremism that the series satirizes. - The New York Times

What David Devan Leaves Behind After 13 Years Running Opera Philadelphia

"The Devan era had its shortcomings. … But (they) shouldn’t overshadow (his) central accomplishment: He took an undernourished, traditional opera company, set in motion a period of artistic experimentation and financial growth, learned important lessons, got through the pandemic, and delivered it all to his successor in one piece." - The Philadelphia Inquirer (MSN)

Willem Dafoe Is The Next Director Of Theatre At The Venice Biennale

"The Biennale’s theater department was founded in 1934, following the establishment of its art, music and cinema branches. Its previous directors include Renato Simoni, Luca Ronconi, Franco Quadri, Carmelo Bene and Lluís Pasqual, and it is programmed yearly alongside major cultural events like the Venice Film Festival." - Variety

John Neumeier Concludes His 51 Years Directing Hamburg Ballet

"Neumeier is 85, which might seem like a decent age to retire. But choosing to go was difficult for him. 'It was a rational decision, not an emotional one. … When I started approaching 50 years here, I thought, I don’t want a downward slide.” - The New York Times

New York’s First Immersive Art Space Takes A Pause On Art

Located at the historic Emigrant Savings Bank building in Manhattan’s Financial District, the HdL has begun hosting non-art events, including puppy yoga, pilates, and an immersive whiskey tasting with Irish storytellers. - ARTnews

The Words We Make Up When We Can’t Remember The Right Ones

Apparently, the struggle to find the right word is real and has been for some time, because the Oxford English Dictionary has its own category for these terms, labelled “thing or person whose name is forgotten or unknown”. - The Conversation

What Defines “Genius” Teams

First, each team member — no exceptions — brings an outstanding capability that complements the capabilities of other team members. Top percentile analytical capacity is certainly a factor, even a prerequisite, but these team members also bring virtuosity, expertise, tenacity, mental agility, and communications skills, just to name a few. - Harvard Business Review

Major French Festival Puts Theatre Voices From Elsewhere On Stage

As the first week of the festival unfolded, the spotlight shone repeatedly on amateurs and artists from countries rarely represented on the biggest European stages. - The New York Times

Ira Glass On Radio, Podcasting, And Keeping “This American Life” Fresh

I think a lot of my aesthetics were shaped by the Broadway shows that my mom took us to in Baltimore. Those old-school shows like “Fiddler on the Roof,” which start off funny and then get more serious, and then, by the end, they’re tragedies about something big and sad. - The New Yorker

After A Long Career In Academia, I Leave Discouraged

I leave elite academe with doubts and foreboding that I would not have anticipated when I completed my formal education in 1982. Watching the travails of Harvard—where I received my degrees and served as an assistant professor and assistant dean—has been particularly painful. - The Atlantic

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