[contextly_auto_sidebar id="fWCZOlqlcOkp84opgNwzY9TpfVFLSu9B"] CAN an artist -- in this case an actor and playwright -- be a healer at the same time? Do the two roles reinforce each other, or do they pull in opposite directions? These were questions I got into in a new story on Daniel Beaty, a remarkable guy who is closing out the LA run of The Tallest Tree in the Forest, a play about the … [Read more...]
Does Literary Fiction Exist? And, James Franco
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="g3odon0mIwRtjJWQanUkJ6akwgtLE0cd"] IS "literary fiction" just another genre? Over the years I've engaged in numerous discussions with writers, fans, and fellow journalists on the matter. Generally I've been sympathetic to the side that says that demeaned genres -- science fiction and hardboiled detective fiction especially -- can be as smart, well-written and … [Read more...]
The Past and Future of Jazz, and “Writing From California”
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="5JaPY4EuOTgKJQzRDmJq9iKTEWZtZtT7"] SHE's not just my favorite new jazz singer in many moons, but someone who points the way forward for the music. That's the sense I've gotten from the young, classically trained vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant, who played the other night at Catalina's and whose album, WomanChild, is a knockout. Part of what I like about her is the … [Read more...]
The Twisted Mind of Geoff Nicholson
THE Los Angeles-based novelist and recovering Englishman Geoff Nicholson had a smart, counter-intuitive and oddly funny essay in Sunday’s New York Times Book Review about his passion for old Guinness Books of Records and "the joys of outdated information."Geoff, whose book The Lost Art of Walking I like very much, was part of a small posse I ran with at Guadalajara’s International Festival of … [Read more...]
Saving SoCal’s Libraries, Part 2
RECENTLY I wrote about the plan of Pasadena Unified School District to get rid of all of its school librarians and, probably, shut all of its school libraries. HERE is a new interview librarian Sara Scribner, who is also my wife, gave to her field's main publication, School Library Journal, on this and related topics.Sample exchange: Do you think administrators and teachers value school … [Read more...]
Saving SoCal’s Libraries
THIS blog is dedicated, of course, to West Coast culture, from classical music to science fiction, and I tend to stay away from politics here. But an issue crucial to the survival and access to West Coast culture is breaking now: the closing of libraries and especially school libraries in Southern California. This has been brought about by the recession and bad political judgement.Pasadena Unified … [Read more...]