[contextly_auto_sidebar id="6RDST6owlrC0x8P60LIwnB5J7Z8Ftt9Q"] HOW does an aspiring novelist, poet, or essayist break into the business? What kind of ecosystem does he or she inhabit after getting established? Does grad school help? Among the best answers to those questions came from novelist Chad Harbach in his essay "MFA vs NYC," and he's expanded it into a provocative anthology that … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2014
The Enigma of Acting, and Longing for Adelaide
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="32rmFQIcwhA54BeHtYSmHSIWsnR6KSaz"] WHAT drives actors to do what they do? Can they inflict real and lasting emotional pain while transforming themselves? And has science been able to document and quantify any of this? These questions are explored in a long, nuanced new story on the Atlantic’s Health channel. Sitting behind this story, of course, is the recent … [Read more...]
Jazz Telepathy: Fred Hersch and Julian Lage
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="WMgTBTUIttMzmXda37fW7vFebFeMPq8h"] LAST night I was lucky enough to catch jazz pianist Fred Hersch and guitarist Julian Lage in the kind of duet setting that captured not only what's best about jazz, but about chamber music and "Americana" as well. For two chordal instruments to stay out of each others' way is not easy, but this exceeded my high expectations, … [Read more...]
Artists Struggle For Studio Space
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="npP8u6de6KK3cPDVFRq7dyGjkAQtokuK"] OFTEN I wonder how visual artists -- most of whom are not rich and not famous -- are faring while the global art market booms and auctions hit new heights. Solid data is hard to find, and much of the market is opaque. But an illuminating new story makes clear: Rising rents make it hard for artists in big cities to hold their … [Read more...]
Photography on the Web: Getty Images Goes Free
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="wKTuBaBs4g6nEeAQFph8OgG0XKZQVL7g"] THE state of photographs and other images on the Web is fraught and confusing, and seems destined to become more of both with time. Vague tensions turn into lawsuits; the "free" crowd, sometime with tech-corporation lobbying, goes up against Hollywood lawyers, and on and on. I must admit, as someone who respects the need for … [Read more...]
The Future of Alternative Weeklies, and Chiming Indie
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="ShQp9YeN13ifE3cCtt2c9QeB43k2DCRC"] DOES the alternative press have a future? Do these papers still matter to their cities? And how much of that future will be corporate controlled? Those are some of the topics that an editor at the Baltimore City Paper gets into in a smart op-ed today. Alt-weeklies have had a hard time of it over the last few years, Baynard Woods … [Read more...]
Chamber Music For the People
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="yE1qQT5mZx5Qd5zgZ5bpUcatdi77vObm"] HOW can classical music survive in a changing world? How can the aging audience be renewed? One answer is coming from a Boston group called Groupmuse, which puts on free, informal chamber concerts at people's homes, then passes the hat for the musicians. So far, this hasn't generated a huge amount of income for the players, but … [Read more...]
Novelists in the New Economy, and a National-ist Goes Classical
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="hPd2FVtPIrH02PAHBYXfxFyuIQJdbTd3"] HOW are novelists doing in the post-recession, Internet-besotted world? In Britain, apparently, even purportedly successful and well-reputed writers are hanging on by their fingernails. That's the conclusion of a nuanced and well-reported piece by Robert McCrum in the Observer. The story starts by describing Rupert Thomson, an … [Read more...]