Douglas McLennan
Doug is the editor of ArtsJournal
Why Do We Have To Spell It That Way? (English Is Messy)
We can shrug and chalk up English’s many quirks to tradition. Or we can try to think beyond our own time, as President Theodore...
Dreams Of A Common Language: A History Of Esperanto
Grammatically, Esperanto was primarily influenced by European languages, but interestingly, some of Esperanto’s innovations bear a striking resemblance to features found in some Asian languages, such as Chinese. - The Conversation
Reality Has Become A Game Played Online
What we haven’t figured out how to make sense of yet is the fun that many Americans act like they’re having with the national fracture. -...
Our Best Writers Challenge And Discomfit Us
Our best writers can unfreeze us. They override the notion that we’re helpless, and sometimes they do it paradoxically, by depicting people who are...
The Co-opting Of Art In A Changing World
“Our art has become exhaustively political, but it is no longer discernibly subversive,” observed the writer Greg Jackson about the literature of the Trump...
This Year Even Music By The Biggest Stars Isn’t Selling
Beyoncé isn’t the only superstar who’s struggling to make a hit with staying power. The past year has seen superstars release new music to...
The Meaning Of Purgatory
While the idea of an intermediate state after death is present in many religions – Buddhism has its bardo, Judaism its Sheol, Islam its...
Facebook Stops Paying Publishers For News
Facebook has paid publishers who participate in the News program. The company signed deals worth tens of millions of dollars with news organizations such...
Trial Over Mega-Book Publisher Merger Set To Begin
The closely watched case holds major implications for a publishing industry that has been grappling with consolidation for years. It also looms as a key...
How Our Music Habits Change As We Age
“We find clear differences between users at different points of their off-platform lifecycles, with younger listeners consistently exploring less and exploiting known content more.”...
New Canadian Radio Format Focuses On Audience And Wins Listeners
Key to Conversation Radio's success is the higher level of interaction between hosts and the audience. “The hosts skilled in storytelling, the life...
Mexican Town Sets Off Debate About Authentic Culture And Branding
The decree has generated conversations in the tourist-heavy, gentrifying borough about history, art, and the effects of globalization: How should a city balance the...
Wisconsin Nutcracker Stars In Challenge To Public Health Rules
The public health officer categorized the socially distanced ballet as a “high-risk sport” and counted each of the ballet’s eight segments as a separate...
As AI Gets Baked In To Artist Creation Tools, Who Will Own The Work?
There are reasons to be troubled by the prospect of tech companies like OpenAI controlling the major means of artistic production in the future. -...
New UK Study Documents How Tough It Is For Musicians To Make A Living
More artists than ever before are releasing music, the report says, but this does not mean more are successful. Analysis published by the Intellectual...
Determining Cultural Quality In The Age Of Massive Data
As Van Dijk has observed, in our digital society, evaluation of cultural products has become synonymous with crowd evaluation. On websites or in newspapers...
The Trap Of Being Over-Informed
The demand to “stay informed” creates and nurtures that feeling of helplessness. By now, it’s common knowledge that social media is exquisitely crafted to...
Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra Takes To The Road In Europe In Daunting Tour
The logistics of international orchestral touring are formidable at the best of times. But the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra’s tour is probably going to set...
Police Warn Of “People Pretending To Play The Violin
When the reporters approached him and asked about his performance, a woman sitting beside him said they didn't speak English. As the man was...
Mariinsky Appoints New Principal Guest Conductor
The Austrian-Iranian Alexander Ali Rahbari took to Instagram to announce the news stating that he was appointed by Putin supporter Valery Gergiev and will conduct 10...
Smithsonian Works On Ethical Collecting (And Demonstrates How Problematic It Is)
As Smithsonian officials celebrated the deaccessioning of works held by its African Art museum, they ignored another 21 Benin sculptures in the collection of...
How Books Are Manufactured
Here, we will show you how vats of ink and 800-pound rolls of paper become a printed book. - The New York Times
This Year’s Booker Prize Longlist
The list is described as “challenging, stimulating, surprising, nourishing” by the chair of judges, contains the youngest and oldest authors ever to be nominated...
Why New York Galleries Are Flocking To LA
The Los Angeles gallery scene is seeing an influx of established New York art galleries moving into town as of late — 11 so...
Gopnik: Remembering Claes Oldenburg
Oldenburg had his avant-garde moment. One of the three saints of the first rise of Popism in the United States, alongside Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, he...