"If the only reason we disapprove of something people are saying 'these days' is that we just find it off-putting, then we should consider a test: Could we defend our disapproval 100 years from now, to people who never knew an English without it?" - The New York Times
Authors must accept that art is prone to inspiring disparate, and potentially conflicting, responses — and they can’t do anything about it. - Washington Post
The late author's estate has announced the creation of the Jack Kerouac Foundation, which will raise funds to build the center — which will present exhibitions, spoken word performance, music, lectures, and conferences — at the church Kerouac attended growing up in Lowell, Mass. - MSN (The Boston Globe)
“They didn’t feel they were the right house to do this book right now. I don’t think they have any interest in trying to cancel Norman Mailer. You can’t cancel Norman Mailer.” - The Guardian
The withdrawal from display at the National Museum of African Art of items taken from the Kingdom of Benin "comes as the Smithsonian completes a six-month, institution-wide examination of its collection practices that looks at this core activity from an ethical perspective." - MSN (The Washington Post)
This massive release isn’t something entirely worth celebrating. Instead, it’s a pointer to the sheer absurdity of American copyright law, which long ago came under the thumb of the entertainment industry and distant heirs of artists determined to preserve what is essentially a windfall. - Los Angeles Times
The decision to end the contracts of Artistic Director Lisa Mayer-Lang and her husband, resident choreographer Michael Lang, was reportedly made without consulting the full Board, dancers, or other stakeholders. One trustee says most dancers have left the company, as have two designers. - WTOL (Toledo, OH)
To be sure, Jesse Green and Maya Phillips disagree in a most collegial and cordial manner. Indeed, they value their disagreement (not least because it took them a while to find some). - The New York Times
You've got some benefactors' names all over the buildings of your non-profit, and then those donors, because of how they made their money, become pariahs. Awkward! Gladwell's "modest proposal" to prevent this situation — based in Scripture, no less — involves a simple change in tax law. - Oh, MG
The network's spokesperson says hosts such as Audie Cornish and Noel King simply left for competitors who can pay better. But another departed host, Lulu Garcia-Navarro, tweeted, "People leave jobs for other opportunities if they are unhappy with the opportunities they have." - The Washington Post
For five years, someone has been impersonating various publishing industry figures (dozens of them) in order to obtain not-yet-published manuscripts — which were never posted online or held for ransom, baffling people in the field. The suspect is Filippo Bernardini, a young employee of Simon & Schuster. - Vulture
"Thieves hacked art dealer Todd Kramer's digital wallet and made off with at least 15 artworks — including five from the high-profile Bored Ape Yacht Club collection — worth an estimated $2.2 million." Then someone took Kramer's tweet about the robbery and made that into an NFT. - Artnet
"Even though (usual venue) the Crypto.com Arena has a basketball or hockey game or a concert booked nearly every night until mid-April, enough artists and executives voiced reluctance about appearing to convince the Academy to postpone the show." - Variety
