“(He) had just published Hotel Ukraine, the 11th and final installment in his Arkady Renko detective series, three days before he died. The novel featured his detective hero grappling with the usual concerns — official corruption, a brutal murder — as well as the same debilitating illness faced by Mr. Smith.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
He managed the Paul Taylor Dance Company and Meredith Monk, and he produced modern dance festivals in New York, but “it was as the director of American Dance Festival that Mr. Reinhart had an outlet commensurate with his ambitions.” - The New York Times
“From the beginning, the Earth Room drew pilgrims, like the woman who visited a few decades ago and would stand silently for a bit and then start to laugh. Or the pre-med student who changed her major to soil studies after her first visit.” - The New York Times
The former Monty Python star: “I’ve had a green card for about 28 years. I’d be proud to be thrown out because I’d be in very select company. The last English comedian to be thrown out of America for political reasons was Charlie Chaplin.” - The Guardian (UK)
Some clay pipe fragments dug up from his backyard garden in Stratford-upon-Avon and dating from the time he lived there were found to contain cannabis residue. Okay, technically this evidence is circumstantial: there’s no proof that Shakespeare himself left those pipes there. (Maybe they were planted by the Earl of Oxford.) - Literary Hub
Martin, an adventurous independent publisher who brought out the raucous work of the poet Charles Bukowski, as well as the writing of other offbeat literary rebels like Paul Bowles, John Fante and Wyndham Lewis, died on June 23 at his home in Santa Rosa, Calif. - The New York Times
“Pat was seventy-four and knew she was about to die. ... I was trapped in her world with her, trembling. She had weeks left to live and had spent so much time writing about how to get away with murder. I fantasized that she might try to kill me.” - The Yale Review
“Libin produced more than 250 Broadway, Off-Broadway and touring productions. He led Circle in the Square Theatre for 62 years until his death, serving as Executive Vice President and Producing Director of Jujamcyn Theaters for 28 years until 2017, and was President of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS for 24 years until 2018.” - Deadline
Among his collaborators, Sellars is cherished for this openness with his feelings. He wraps anyone and everyone in a bear hug. He releases sudden honks of laughter. He cries. - The New York Times
“(He) was one of America’s most established dramatists, responsible for about 30 plays staged on or off Broadway since the mid-1980s. His work was wry yet tender, nipping at the divide between comedy and drama, and delved into questions of family, love and friendship.” - The Washington Post (MSN)
“A hard-driving giant …, (he) took the helm at Marvel at the tender age of 27, then spent nearly a decade revolutionizing the way superhero stories are written, drawn and sold” — gaining both fervent admirers and ferocious critics along the way. - The New York Times (The Spokesman-Review)
Maxwell took over the José Limón Dance Company after he died, but no one expected her to keep it going - much less for almost four decades. - The New York Times
“On arriving in Manhattan, she found studio closed; he and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, which he founded in 1953, were on tour. So, on her own, she began exploring other aspects of the New York dance scene.” - The New York Times
The Library announced this week that it has acquired more than 5,000 items from Sondheim's collection, which will be available to the public on July 1. - CBC
