Stories

Robert Pinsky Wins Poetry Foundation’s $100,000 Ruth Lilly Prize

“Pinsky, an acclaimed poet and translator who served as U.S. laureate under the auspices of the Library of Congress from 1997-2000, won the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize. He has long enjoyed recognition beyond the poetry world, even making public appearances with fellow New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen.” - AP

Getty Center In L.A. Temporarily Closed Due To Brush Fire

The fire, which was reported around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, apparently broke out near the Getty Center parking lot and progressed along the 405 Freeway. The blaze was contained later that evening and evacuation orders have been lifted, but the museum will remain closed on Thursday. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)

Europe’s Largest Center For Dance Is Now Under Construction In The Netherlands

“Located on a prominent site in Rotterdam’s historic docklands, … Danshuis will be the largest centre in Europe dedicated to the production and development of dance under one roof. Open to all ages and levels of experience, it will provide facilities for both professional and amateur dance-making.” - Gramilano

Many Students Are Sick Of AI

“Obviously, failing and struggling is not fun, but the sense of pride and succeeding afterwards is very, very motivating for me. And I don’t think you’d get that same kick or that same hit from getting a ninety from ChatGPT versus getting a ninety over an essay where you spent six hours in a basement.” - The Walrus

Scott Rudin Is Back On Broadway Again — And These Next Projects Are Pretty Brave

The first, starting previews next month, is Bruce Norris’s Downstate, about four convicted sex offenders, one of whom is confronted by a now-adult victim. The second has less fraught subject matter; in fact, it has almost no words at all. Bess Wohl’s Small Mouth Sounds stars Julia Roberts and Paul Rudd. - The Hollywood Reporter

Lonnie Bunch’s Smithsonian Legacy

Through a combination of principled stances and deft political skills, he has kept the sprawling institution on mission and aligned with its public. - The Atlantic

Will The Lucas Museum Disrupt Museums?

The museum calls it “narrative art,” defined as art “created to tell stories through images.” George Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson, have also described their collection as “the people’s art.” - Los Angeles Times

London Loses Another Theatre Company As The Gate Shuts Down

“The Gate Theatre, which has punched above its weight ever since it was founded above a Notting Hill pub in 1979, is to close permanently next month. The announcement comes four years after the theatre had what it described as a ‘devastating’ 100% cut to its Arts Council England funding.” - The Guardian

The Making Of American Sophistication

Sophistication, one begins to think, is a thing won against the grain of privilege—a substitute for it, a social sleight of hand. A “classy” entertainer is almost never someone from the upper classes; sophisticated people are mostly smart people passing as rich people.  - The New Yorker

Contractors Sue $1B Lucas Museum Over Unpaid Bills

The suit, one of four recently brought by contractors alleging nonpayment, claims the museum “actively promoted, contracted, and labeled the construction as a ‘private, non-profit development’ to bypass the rigorous administrative, registration, and bonding mandates of the California Public Contract Code, Civil Code, and Labor Code.”  - Los Angeles Times (MSN)

Hungary’s New Government Cancels New Museum

Hungary’s new government has scrapped plans for a New National Gallery that was to form part of a development in Budapest’s City Park (Városliget) aimed at elevating the capital’s cultural standing. - The Art Newspaper

How Allen Ginsburg’s “Howl” Became A Free-Speech Landmark

In 1957, undercover police bought a copy of the poetry collection which featured “Howl” at City Lights bookstore in San Francisco — and proceeded to arrest owner Lawrence Ferlinghetti and manager Shig Murao for selling obscene material. Their trial set a major precedent in First Amendment case law. - BBC (MSN)

We Need Word Detectives

We appreciate that each of us is a link in a millennia-long chain of language, connected to people over the centuries by the words they bequeathed us. Following where, and through whom, that chain has passed is the business of etymology. - Psyche

The Meaning Of Lonnie Bunch Leaving The Smithsonian

What this administration cannot capture directly of the country's culture, it destroys with chaos, making life intolerable for people who persevere in the audacious belief that things like "the increase and diffusion of knowledge" actually matter. - Washington Post (Yahoo)

Trump Administration Strips Critical Language On Confederacy From Statue

That language has been removed from the website, and the marker in the cemetery has been replaced by a new sign that omits wording critical of slavery and the Confederacy. - Washington Post

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