ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

Today’s AJ Highlights

Good morning: Here are this weekend’s highlights:

  1. Booker Shortlist Authors On The Moment Inspiration Struck “It feels incorrect, to have inspiration strike in the midst of grief, but what probably happened was that I was trying to get away somehow, to tell myself a distracting story. And a distracting story it was.” – The Guardian
  2. Dudamel In New York “LA Phil Dudamel in New York, offering a glimpse of what is to come. ‘You have the vision of a maestro who at least wants to try, who isn’t content with the base line of a symphony concert. And that is something to be excited about.'” – The New York Times
  3. Why Doesn’t Being A Good Writer Equal Being A Good Public Speaker? “Often, it’s an inverse relationship, as anyone who has gone to too many readings can tell you.” – LitHub
  4. A Time To Mourn, A Time To Publish “This is a tale of Walt Whitman’s influence on an AIDS activist, his partner’s devotion, and a posthumous novel.” – NPR
  5. Who Defines Asian American Literature? “There is no overarching chronology or guideline of how one behaves as an Asian in this country. One can immigrate and have no knowledge of the history and burden of yellowface, the Chinese Exclusion Act or the incarceration of Japanese Americans.” – LitHub

As usual, skip down to read all the stories we collected arranged by topic. See you tomorrow.

Doug

Latest Stories

Can Paris’s Iconic Zinc Rooftops Be Adapted To An Ever-Hotter Climate?

Some four-fifths of the city’s roofs are covered in the lightweight, malleable, low-maintenance metal. Many of them now need replacing — to prevent leaks in more intense rainstorms and because high summer temperatures turn the rooms below them into ovens. Parisian artisans are finding ways to address these problems....

African Publishers And “The Wakanda Problem”

"When we listen to audiobooks produced in the West, they have a Wakandan accent," said Eghosa Imasuen, executive director of Narrative Landscape Press in Lagos, Nigeria. "Nobody talks like that on the continent." - Publishers Weekly

Mali’s Capital City, Beset By Jihadi Militants, Cheers Itself Up With Marionettes

Bamako, a city of 3 million, is being squeezed by an Al-Qaeda-affiliated militia which has blocked fuel imports and made travel beyond the capital dangerous. Yet Bamakoans recently raised their spirits with a three-day festival celebrating puppetry, which has deep roots in Mali. - AP

Premium

Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra seeks President & Chief Executive Officer

The next President & CEO will lead the KSO into its next century of artistic excellence, inspired community-engaged education, and strategic growth.

Classifieds

Director of Programming, Hult Center, Eugene, OR

Application Deadline: Monday, December 1, 2025, at 5 p.m. P.T. Accepting Online Applications Only Via the City of Eugene’s Website: Director of Programming | Job

Assistant Professor/Associate Professor of Theatre Arts (Directing) or Assistant Professor/Associate Professor of Professional Practice in Theatre Arts (Directing)

The Program aims to attract dynamic and dedicated artists with vision, a standing in the profession, a commitment to teaching, service, and an appetite for collaborating across disciplines.
function my_excerpt_length($length){ return 200; } add_filter('excerpt_length', 'my_excerpt_length');