Amy Helm: “It’s interesting as a musician to go to so many different places and play for so many different people and have such a direct connection with them. That’s not something you get in a room of a hundred people or several thousand people. It’s nice. And it’s right on time. And then you get a little window into what they’re dealing with.: – NPR
Defenders Of That (Iffy) Theodore Roosevelt Statue Descend On American Museum Of Natural History
The Federalist organized the 150-person protest at the statue. “Speakers supporting the statue used the protest to rail against a broad range of issues including abortion and religion. One woman called for the removal of ‘the feminists and the homosexuals’ from the City Council.” – The New York Times
The ‘Novel Of Ideas’ Is A Gimmick, But One That Sometimes Works
The form of “novel” is young, but its conventions are mostly clear – and the novel of ideas is different. “Whether executed as science fiction, bildungsroman, or more recently, the satirical form Nicholas Dames calls the ‘theory novel,’ the novel of ideas is ‘artful,’ with all the equivocality this term brings. Willingness to court the accusation of relying on overly transparent stylistic devices is a consistent, perhaps even cohering feature of a notoriously unstable genre.” – The Paris Review
You Just Can’t Replace The Joys Of Browsing In A Physical Bookstore
Yay for all of the many, many, many, many, MANY ways bookstores have figured out ways to stay afloat and, in some cases, paying all of their staff (shout-out to you, The Ripped Bodice in Culver City), but by Zeus’ curly beard, WE WANT OUR BOOKSTORE BROWSING BACK. – The Washington Post
Leslie Odom Jr. And Money For All Of Hamilton’s Actors
The actor who played Burr in the original off-Broadway and Broadway casts on negotiating better pay for the soon-to-be-out movie: “You want to be an ally? You make sure that Black people and people of color and women are getting paid, that they’ll be able to take money home to their families. It’s not about revenge, it’s about equality.” – Los Angeles Times
Consequential Writing About Race
Appreciating social movements in hindsight is a complicated endeavor. Leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Harriet Tubman are often whitewashed to appease modern sensibilities. Some, like Bayard Rustin, are almost forgotten entirely. – The New York Times
Poets, Playwrights, Novelists, And A Swashbuckling Conquistador Nun: The Women Writers Of The Siglo De Oro
The polymath Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz was only one of numerous women in Spain and its New World colonies who became accomplished authors during the 16th and 17th centuries (and who should be better known today). Many of them were, in fact, nuns, and one of them really did run away from the convent, dress and pass as a man, and had some hair-raising adventures in New Spain. – Public Radio International
CEO Of Hal Leonard On The Future Of Music Publishing
Larry Morton: “I thought that digital would completely replace things like physical phone books and all that. Certainly digital is a huge part of the business, and it’s growing quickly. But there’s something unique about that physical touch between musicians and their music books. There’s something about that relationship. if you’re learning a difficult piece and you’re really scrutinizing that score… you know we have nearly all of it available digitally. People still want to touch that page.” – MakingMusic
What It’s Like To Be The Only Black Dancer In A Company
Former Atlanta Ballet dancer Kiara Felder: “The ballet’s audience, typically, are overwhelmingly white. “It’s important to engage with the community, and it’s tough when the community looks one way and your company looks another,” Felder said. “That may be one reason the audience was what it was. It would be amazing to see the demographics of the company reflect the demographics of the city. I wish those correlated more in the arts. It’s not that way in most companies.” – ArtsATL
Photographer Li Zhengsheng, Who Captured The Cultural Revolution On Film, Dead At 79
“At great personal risk [he] documented the dark side of Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, producing powerful black-and-white images that remain a rare visual testament to the brutality of that tumultuous period, many of them not developed or seen for years.” – The New York Times
Why You Don’t Need To See The New Film Version Of “Hamilton”
This is in part because Hamilton is a sung-through musical, meaning there aren’t any scenes of spoken dialogue in between the songs. Everything in the show is right there on the album—with the exception of one very brief scene in which Hamilton learns of the death of his friend (and in countless fan fictions, his lover) John Laurens. – Slate
Please (Don’t) Touch (Without Hand Sanitizer): How Children’s Museums And Interactive Exhibits Are Trying To Reopen Safely
“As states ease restrictions, many museums and animal attractions are next in line to reopen, if they haven’t already. Like other businesses, they must enforce social distancing rules and reduce touch points, measures that run counter to their high level of interactivity. … To better understand how attractions are reimagining their experiences, we reached out to several museums, aquariums, zoos and wildlife centers in the country. Here is a snapshot of their look-Ma-no-hands plans.” – The Washington Post
Utah Symphony | Utah Opera Hires New CEO
Steven Brosvik comes to Utah from the Nashville Symphony, where he was Chief Operating Officer. He has previously worked in management at the Baltimore, Houston, and San Antonio Symphony Orchestras. – Deseret News (Salt Lake City)
Dixie Chicks Drop The “Dixie”
The band’s social media accounts and website were changed Thursday to reflect the new name for the band, which is made up of Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines and Emily Strayer. “We want to meet this moment,” read a statement on The Chicks’ website, which also noted that the trio recognizes the name was already in use by a band in New Zealand. – CBC (Reuters)
Early, Unfinished Story By Louisa May Alcott Published For First Time — With Invitation For Writers To Finish It
“Aunt Nellie’s Diary,” a 9,000-word piece written when Alcott was in her late teens, “is narrated by the 40-year-old title character, and follows her observations as a romantic triangle appears to unfold among her orphaned, fair-haired niece” and two friends. The fragment appears in the latest issue of The Strand Magazine, which will “post guidelines in the coming weeks” for writers to submit their own endings. – Yahoo! (AP)
Google News Starts Program ‘To Pay Publishers For High-Quality Content’
“The U.S. internet giant has for years tried to fend off demands for payment from news publishers worldwide in return for using their content, with European media groups among their fiercest critics. … The new product” — which is launching with news publishers from Germany, Australia and Brazil and will subsequently add more — “will be available on Google News and Discover. [An exec] said Google would also offer to pay for free access for users to read paywalled articles on a publisher’s site where available.” – Reuters
Australian Government Announces $250M Rescue Package For Arts
The program includes $90 million to underwrite bank loans to fund new productions, $35 million in additional money for organizations already funded by the federal government, $50 million to finance the restart of film and video production, and $75 million in grants to events businesses to fund new touring shows and festivals. (But will it be enough?) – The Guardian
Changes Afoot: What’s Next For Me
In January I made the difficult decision to leave The New School when my current contract ends. My heart and mind have been calling me to other lands, to other ways of being and living in the world, and to center work that has been squeezed into the margins the past few years. – Diane Ragsdale