If public libraries are not for the rich, they probably are not otherwise for the poor. To understand the public library as a benevolent form of welfare would be to entirely miss the radical potential of the institution as a political project. It isn’t utopian, nor is about culturing the masses, nor offering the marginalized a space where they mustn’t “pay for coffee.” – The Baffler
There’s One American TV Show That Depicts Labor With Real Dignity
“On its face, [The Science Channel’s] How It’s Made is arguably about science and engineering rather than the vicissitudes of the working class, but its depiction of the everyday worker nonetheless makes it a kissing cousin to socialist realism — or at least a kissing cousin to social realism, which is itself a kissing cousin to socialist realism.” – The Baffler
An Artist Is Turning A New Orleans Flood Wall Into A Mile-Long Story Of The City
With the permission of the Flood Protection Authority and funding from the Walmart Corp., the artist embarked on the first 400 feet of a historical mural that will depict major moments in New Orleans’ three centuries. If all goes as planned, the painting could eventually stretch a full mile. – NOLA.com
What Are The Limits Of Academic Freedom?
“Academic freedom is no simple matter. We have distinct ways of understanding it, often according to class, discipline, race, gender, and ideology. At base, academic freedom entitles us, as both faculty and students, to say or investigate things that might upset others without fear of retaliation. As with any condition of speech, limits exist. And as always, complexity begins at the imposition of limits.” – Chronicle of Higher Education
Machines Are Increasingly Taking Over Creative Jobs. Should We Be Worried?
Once we thought drivers, doctors, accountants, and lawyers were irreplaceable. And yet we are beginning to see computers encroaching on those fields. Now, even the most human of professions—those centered on creativity, something we thought of as uniquely human—seem to be programmable. – JSTOR
Book Publishing Revenue Up 6.9 Percent In First Half Of 2019
The top-line message from the organization is that the combined revenue of the participating publishers for the first six months of the year was nearly US$6 billion. The previous caveat in place, that represents an increase of 6.9 percent over the same first-half period of 2018. – Publishing Perspectives
Big-Data Read Of 3.5 Million Books Reveals How Men And Women Are Most Described
“Not surprisingly, women in books are beautiful and men are true-hearted! Yup, when positively described, women (or other traditionally gender-specific female nouns, like stewardess or daughter) are almost always considered at the physical level, whereas men are generally described according to their inherent virtue.” – LitHub
The First TV Show Made Specifically For Watching On Smartphones
Content, a seven-episode series produced by the other ABC (that’s the Australian Broadcasting Corp.), “is a comedy about a narcissistic millennial determined to become an online influencer, no matter what it takes … The high concept is that it unfolds in real time, entirely from the perspective of the protagonist’s smartphone.” – The Guardian
How Barbara Kingsolver Fell In Love With Language Again
It’s fascinating work, but lately, something else is pulling me back to my computer late at night. I get carried away in such guilty pleasure that if my husband walks in unexpectedly, I’m prone to click off my screen as if hiding an online affair, or a gaming addiction. But it’s neither. I’m writing poetry. – Washington Post
Hollywood Director Joel Schumacher Is Frank About A Lot, Including An Astounding Sex Life, But He Will Not Kiss And Tell
In a Q&A, the director of St. Elmo’s Fire, The Lost Boys, Flatliners, Batman Forever, Batman and Robin, and Phantom of the Opera talks about his own wild youth (he began drinking at 9 and having sex, mostly with men, at 11, and he insists he was not a victim of abuse), his celebrity adulthood in fashion and film, the good and the difficult actors he’s directed, and having made critical flops that were box-office hits. But which famous people he’s slept with? No way. – Vulture
The Atlantic’s Takedown Of ‘What The Constitution Means To Me’
Staff writer Andrew Ferguson: “By play’s end, it’s become clear that if the young [Heidi] Schreck did indeed love the Constitution, it’s because she misunderstood it; and if her passion for the document has cooled as she’s gotten older, it’s because she’s transcended her earlier misunderstanding to misunderstand it even more.” – The Atlantic
Composer Mario Davidovsky, Electronic Music Pioneer, Dead At 85
“Like many of his fellow composers in the 1950s and ’60s, Mr. Davidovsky was drawn to the new possibilities offered by technology. But he was uneasy with the prospect of music that was immune to human interpretation. Beginning in 1963 with Synchronisms No. 1 for flute and tape, he coaxed electronic sounds into partnership with traditional instruments to create musical pas-de-deux that were full of mystery and drama.” – The New York Times
A Campaign In London For A New Museum Of Slavery
The proposal, which has the support of London mayor Sadiq Khan, comes from the Fabian Society, a socialist organization that dates back to 1884. The Fabians say that a slavery museum would educate the public about the “centuries-old tropes about racial inferiority” that feed racism to this day — and that both London’s financial industry and the UK government “have a moral obligation” to fund the project. – BBC
How A Priceless New Orleans Musical Archive Lost After Katrina Wound Up In A Storage Locker In Southern California
“These are some of the founding documents of New Orleans funk. These tapes were part of that incredibly rich creative period that laid the groundwork for a lot of New Orleans music that followed, and by extension, impacted decades of popular music to come.” – Los Angeles Times
This Person Doesn’t Exist And Never Said That. (The Growing DeepFake Crisis)
As political advertisements already twist candidates’ words and manipulate the truth for the perfect soundbite, can you believe anything you hear when it can all be manufactured on any laptop you can find at Best Buy? – Shelly Palmer
American Cities With The Most Creative Workers
“The leading city, Washington, D.C., has nearly three times the concentration of the creative class of the most lagging city, Detroit. In the four leading cities, the creative class makes up between half and 60-plus percent of the workforce; in the bottom five, it makes up less than 30 percent.” CityLab
Richard Booth, Who Created The Book Town Movement, Dead At 80
He almost single-handedly turned the fading Welsh village of Hay-on-Wye into one of the world’s secondhand book capitals and a model followed by towns in more than a few other countries. – The New York Times
In The Public Glare, Museums Think About Who Gets To Give Them Money
“In the case of working with particular individuals, it’s clear there is a line. We would not accept donations from high-level visible criminals, or organisations that are egregious and violate our own values or mission,” he says. “At the same time, we are fundamentally supported by and we operate on the basis of philanthropy. That’s the American model.” – The Art Newspaper
How Wealthy Collectors Now Collect Museums
“At the highest levels of art collecting, board memberships and other institutional affiliations are table stakes: it can be almost impossible to collect the most coveted art without them. In other words, increasingly we live not in a world where museums collect collectors, but rather in a world where collectors collect museums.” – The Art Newspaper
How the arts and human rights come together at Dublin festival
“This September, the Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival makes its 11-day debut, showcasing the work of human rights defenders in Ireland and around the world – past and present – and the role of the arts in promoting it today.” – The Stage