Many people assume that if there are only two sexes, that means everyone must fall into one of them. But the biological definition of sex doesn’t imply that at all. – Aeon
American Artist Defends Controversial Sculpture Of Melania Trump
Brad Downey, a conceptual artist from Kentucky based in Berlin, said the statue that replaced an earlier wooden carving destroyed in an arson attack in July, was motivated by his “frustrations with the policies of my birth country.” – The Guardian
The Best Of The Writers We Have, Often Deliberately, Forgotten
Hannah Lynch was “a neglected Irish writer, famous in her time,” but studying her also gives a window “into a robust international women’s culture at the fin-de-siècle that only recently has become the subject of critical revival, to which Irish writers, artists, journalists, and activists contributed.” – The Irish Times
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Loved Opera, And Opera Loved Her Back
When Justice Ginsburg’s death was reported Friday night, tributes poured in from everyone associated with the art form. “She saw her first opera — a condensed version of La Gioconda — in 1944, when she was 11, and was immediately hooked, becoming the kind of aficionado who goes to dress rehearsals, and then opening nights, and then closing nights, too, for good measure.” – The New York Times
Best Seller Inception Loop
How do you write a best seller? Long years of hard work and editing? Sheer lightning and writing skill? All of this, and also by getting published by Penguin Random House. – The New York Times
Anne Stevenson, Poet And Biographer Of Sylvia Plath, 87
The poet completed 16 poetry collections and won prestigious prizes, including from the Lannan Foundation for lifetime achievement. But she’s most well-known for a biography of Sylvia Plath, which veered from the accepted narrative of Plath’s husband, poet Ted Hughes, “portraying Ms. Plath as ‘a wall of unrelenting rage’ prone to outrageous behavior, while depicting Mr. Hughes as generous and caring.” – The New York Times
RBG’s Filmmakers Reflect On Their Access To Her Extraordinary Life
Julie Cohen and Betsy West spent years making the documentary RBG. Cohen learned a lot: “When you think of power and toughness, you expect that you’re talking about a big, loud, forceful man and Justice Ginsburg was none of those things. … She was tiny, she had a soft voice, she was an introvert. And yet there was just no question that she had power and that power came both from the wattage that was her brain but also from her level of determination.” – Los Angeles Times
A Rare Edition Of Shakespeare’s Final Play Is Found In A Scottish College In Spain
It’s a 1634 volume that a researcher into Adam Smith found in the archives of the Real Colegio de Escoceses, which in the 17th century was a seminary and “an important source of English literature for Spanish intellectuals.” – BBC
The Carpenters Of Notre Dame’s Rebuild Display Some Expert Medieval Techniques
“With precision and boundless energy, a team of carpenters used medieval techniques to raise up — by hand — a three-ton oak truss Saturday in front of Notre Dame Cathedral, a replica of the wooden structures that were consumed in the landmark’s devastating April 2019 fire that also toppled its spire.” The feat was intended to show that officials made the correct decision to rebuild the cathedral using the same methods as builders did 800 years ago. – St. Louis Post-Dispatch (AP)
Readers Are Turning, In Droves, To Octavia Butler’s Post-Apocalyptic Fiction
There’s nothing like it – and it feels eerily prescient, too. “The Earthseed books are instructional in a way that other apocalypse fictions are not. They are not prepper fiction, though reading them will teach you a thing or two about go bags and the importance of posting a night watch. According to people who love the books, myself included, they offer something beyond practical preparations: a blueprint for adjusting to uncertainty.” – Slate