Please Stop This Foolishness
Shakespeare was Shakespeare. The rest is idiocy. "While to most of us, a poem explicitly mentioning Shakespeare and crediting him with writing 'The Rape...
What Gustavo Dudamel’s Recordings Reveal About His Talent
The conductor, coming to New York in 2026, has many recordings. The NYT says, "he comes off as a very capable musician, but one...
Speaking Of Eurovision, Congrats To Sweden’s Loreen
The singer, "who previously triumphed in 2012 with Euphoria, narrowly beat Finland’s Kaarija after the public and jury votes were combined." She's the first...
Elena Ferrante May Win Eurovision
That is, the Eurovision Book Contest. "In March, the literary festival asked the public to submit their favourite fiction from any of the...
Live Tony Awards Are A Truly Depressing Casualty Of The Writers’ Strike
This isn't great for theatre: "The Tonys have long been a prestigious event for CBS, but the show itself is more important to Broadway producers,...
Samantha Irby Writes About Whatever She Wants To, And She’s Not Sorry
Irby "received hate mail from fans who believed had somehow blasphemed their beloved Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. Her response ... is an...
Tony Awards Committee In Emergency Meetings About Writers Strike
The strike’s possible impact on this year’s Tonys, set to air and stream Sunday, June 11 on CBS and Paramount+ from the United Palace...
I’m A Librarian At Rikers Jail. Here’s What I See…
There are parts of the jail system that we no longer visit, because we don’t feel safe there. Other parts have lost library access...
Eurovision: So Deeply Uncool It’s Now Cool?
Do these fans love Eurovision because they enjoy the catharsis of the unabashed release of “bad taste”? Or because they enjoy feeling superior to...
The Enduring Power Of Multicultural Culture
Across the entire geographic and chronological recorded history of human societies, storytelling has enabled different ways of seeing and thinking to be communicated without...
Forget Bromances – Female Literary Friendships Are In
Since 2015, the year female friendship was discovered, book after book about it has been published. - Granta
Seven Great Paintings And The Pigments That Made All The Difference
"Every colour we encounter in a great work of art, from the ultramarine that Johannes Vermeer wove into the turban of his Girl with...
Nataki Garrett On Trying To Make Change At The Oregon Shakespeare Festival
“When you recognize the potential for something to shift, and you can see the path, then the question becomes, how do you implement a...
After 33 Years With Nashville Ballet, Artistic Director Paul Vasterling Is Retiring
"During his 25-year tenure as director he transformed the dozen-member troupe into the largest professional ballet company in Tennessee, with 33 dancers and a...
Why New York Is The Center Of The Global Art Market
New York surpassed Paris as the global centre of the art market in the years after the Second World War. Now it has been...
The Big New Thing In Reality Programming: Actual Therapy Sessions
It started with Esther Perel's podcast Where Should We Begin?, continued with Showtime's Couples Therapy, YouTube's Blue Therapy, Audible's podcast Sex Therapy, and the...
Ottawa’s National Gallery Struck In Ransomware Attack
“The Gallery has been focused on bringing our IT systems back online,” the email read. “The Gallery has continued to be open to the...
A Ramshackle Philadelphia Church Sold Its Grimy Old Stained Glass Windows for $6,000. ...
Last summer, Emmanuel Christian Center bought a 1901 church so dilapidated that the pastor decided on a gut renovation and sold all the furnishings...
Cracking Down On China’s Ugliest Buildings
“Lacking regulation, the construction spurt has been like sprinting blindfolded, outstripping public consensus and leading to a breakdown in cultural thought and design.” -...
Who Was William Shakespeare? William Shakespeare, And The People Who Argue Otherwise Are “Truthers”
Isaac Butler gives a hearty smackdown to the "anti-Stratfordians" he calls "Shakespeare Truthers," pointing out how they use the same techniques that 9/11 Truthers,...
This Librarian Who Was Shushed By A Patron Argues That It’s Fine For Public...
"These days libraries are bustling community centers, where being at least somewhat noisy is the new normal, especially when kids are involved. As someone...
Even Onstage In 2023, “Brokeback Mountain” Is Still A Tragedy Of The Closet
A new play based on Annie Proulx's story (not the 2005 film adaptation), starring Lucas Hedges as Ennis and Mike Faist as Jack, is...
Harry Bass Jr. Foundation Gives $40 Million For New Arts School At University Of...
"The school will be known as the Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities and Technology. The largesse of the Bass Foundation follows...
Jacob’s Pillow Reveals Design To Replace Burned-Down Doris Duke Theatre
"The former 216-seat theater of about 8,500 square feet will be reimagined as a nearly 20,000-square-foot, 230-seat, multiuse theater with the same name and...
Fledgling San Antonio Philharmonic Announces Ten-Program Season
The 2023-24 season for the orchestra, founded to fill the void left by the now-closed San Antonio Symphony, will feature two performances of one...
