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EMAIL: Douglas McLennan, Editor artsbeat@artsjournal.com

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This Author Has a Beef With Amazon . . .
Richard Kostelanetz has produced many titles in his Archae Editions line of books over the past eight years via Amazon’s print-on-demand publishing service. But a ... read more
AJBlog: Straight|UpPublished 2019-12-05
John Simon, R.I.P.
In today’s Wall Street Journal “Sightings” column I take note of the death of John Simon. Here’s an excerpt. * * * The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-12-05
So you want to see a show?
Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-12-05
Almanac: Vladimir Nabokov on the ultimate problem of free will
“No free man needs a God; but was I free?” Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-12-05
Dickens and water
In today’s Wall Street Journal I review the Broadway premiere of a new stage version of A Christmas Carol and an off-Broadway revival of A ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-12-04
Ronnie did it
In today’s Wall Street Journal I review an off-Broadway revival of A Bright Room Called Day. Here’s an excerpt. * * * Before “Angels in America,” ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-12-04
Snapshot: Ralph Ellison talks about his never-completed second novel
Ralph Ellison talks about his never-completed second novel in an interview originally telecast on public TV in 1966: (This is the latest in a ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-12-04
Almanac: Vladimir Nabokov on literary translation
“The clumsiest literal translation is a thousand times more useful than the prettiest paraphrase.” Vladimir Nabokov, “Problems of Translation: ‘Onegin’ in English” ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-12-04
From the Ground Up
Periodically, I have the pleasure of writing about the work of my friend, choreographer Allison Orr, and her company, Forklift Danceworks. (Most notably in ... read more
AJBlog: Engaging MattersPublished 2019-12-03
Lookback: why I review regional theater
From 2009: I spend a lot of time living out of a suitcase in my capacity as drama critic of The Wall Street Journal, for which ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-12-03
Almanac: Vladimir Nabokov on youthful protest
“Rowdies are never revolutionaries, they are always reactionary. It is among the young that the greatest conformists and Philistines are found, e.g., the hippies with ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-12-03
Blaming the Victim: The Shocking “Green Vault” Assault at Dresden’s Royal Palace (with video)
How could this have happened? In what seems to have been a “smash-and-grab” theft of major proportions, burglars last week staged a raid, shortly before ... read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrlPublished 2019-12-02
Just because: Helen Beardsley appears on To Tell the Truth
Helen Beardsley appears as a challenger on To Tell the Truth. The author of Who Gets the Drumstick?, she simultaneously raised twenty children and step-children and was ... read more
AJBlog: About Last NightPublished 2019-12-02