Stories

Trying To Organize A Music Festival In A War Zone

When the Russians might bomb you out at any second, what’s the point, really? “People need some joy in their lives, even through these hard times.” - BBC

We Need To Talk About Egypt’s Weirdly Compelling Biennale Exhibit

“The images are indelible: groups of soldiers sway and swoon in perfect synchronicity; top-hatted ambassadors from European powers squat barefoot on a tilted table or hang off its edges while discussing the fate of the Middle East; dancing girls tempt a drunkard in a tavern.” - The New York Times

Cheng Pei-pei, Hong Kong’s Queen Of Swords And Star Of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Has Died At 78

“In a career-spanning six decades, Cheng burst on to the scene in the 1960s, becoming a star for Shaw Brothers Studios, the Hong Kong production company modelled on the Hollywood studios that became internationally famous for action films and period martial arts epics” (aka wuxia). - The Hollywood Reporter

A Bookshop In New Delhi Explains Why Its Top 100 List Is, Well, Not The NYT

"If a list so devoid of representation from small presses, working class writers, genre-fiction, and poetry is aggregated with contributions from ‘hundreds of novelists, nonfiction writers, academics, book editors, journalists, critics, publishers, poets, translators, booksellers, librarians and other literary luminaries,’ what does that say about ... American readership?” - Scroll (India)

London’s Institute Of Contemporary Art May Have Fired Workers Who Support Gaza

And "Berlin-based artist Rheim Alkadhi says she will pull her work out of London’s Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) if the center does not take accountability for allegedly retaliating against workers who have expressed solidarity with Palestinians.” - Hyperallergic

How Writers Can Deal With Online Reviews

“Part of trying to get on quietly and diplomatically in life and not clash with people is keeping up the pretence that fuckwits don’t walk among us in the world, but sometimes you just have to face up to the reality of the situation: Fuckwits do walk among us in the world.” - The Villager

This 82-Year-Old Abstract Painter Is Finally Getting Her Due After Some Rough Australian Times

Lesley Dumbrell "was shocked when the head of the painting department blithely told her that he was happy to have women in his class ‘because no doubt they’ll get married, and if they marry well they will become very good collectors of art.’” - The Guardian (UK)

The Creators Of A New Movie Worry Clips Will Be Used To Call The Moon Landing Fake

“The movie’s writers say they hope it will reinforce the real story of the moon landing. But is that possible in a post-Covid age when conspiracy theories are amplified on social media?” - The New York Times

Bill Viola Was One Of Our Most Important Video Artists, But His Muse Was Music

“His greatness was not necessarily the way he used sound or even the sound itself, rather why he used sound, where he used sound and how he interacted with sound. … Music also drove his video creation. And that creation has had a lasting effect on music.” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

A Writer, Choosing Not To Look Away

Orlaine McDonald, author of No Small Thing: "I’m a painfully slow writer and can find it really hard to commit anything to the page without wanting to immediately revise and refine.”- The Guardian (UK)

On The Road With The State Ballet Of Georgia

Why is the State Ballet of Georgia travelling for a long residency in London? Well … “with the Bolhoi and Mariinsky - both of which used to visit London regularly - now persona non gratae in the West, there’s a void begging to be filled.” - The Telegraph UK (MSN)

Florida Man Thinks Jane Austen Was An American

Most unfortunately for young Floridians, this particular Florida man is also the state’s Commissioner of Education. “In Diaz’s defense, ‘freedom’ does appear four times , and there are a number of discussions of shooting guns.” - LitHub

How Long Will Eva Hesse’s Artworks Survive?

“Given its fragility and waning life span, each successive showing of Hesse’s work is potentially the last. Time is part of the deal. Hesse knew this.” - The New York Times

Four Disneyland Unions Vote To Authorize A Strike

That doesn’t mean one will happen, but it might. Last week, a thousand people "protested outside Disneyland’s entrance in support of park employees advocating for changes like fair wages and a 'fair attendance policy.’” - Vulture

Bernice Johnson Reagon, Founder Of Sweet Honey In The Rock And Legendary Activist Through Song, Has Died At 81

Reagon, also a cultural historian who worked at the Smithsonian, “was an original member in 1962 of the Freedom Singers, a vocal quartet that provided anthems of defiance for civil rights protesters preparing to confront the police or as they were hauled away to jail.” - The New York Times

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