Arts
The Arts
BOOK REVIEW: ‘The Removed’ Walks A Path Between Memory And Mourning
The roads taken by the family in The Removed, Brandon Hobson’s new novel, are essential ones in this moment of national reclaiming. The story in this book is deeply resonant and profound, and not only because of its exquisite lyricism. It’s also a hard and visceral entrance into our own reckoning as a society and civic culture with losses we created, injustices we allowed, and family separations we ignored. Continue Reading BOOK REVIEW: ‘The Removed’ Walks A Path Between Memory And Mourning
Christopher Plummer, Star Of Stage, Screen, ‘Sound Of Music,’ Dies At 91
In 2012, when he was already well into his 80s, Christopher Plummer told NPR that he was busier than he had been in a long time – and that was OK with him. “You never stop learning how to act, both on screen and on the stage,” he said. “I feel like I’m starting all over again. Every sort of decade I feel this, and that’s very satisfying.” Continue Reading Christopher Plummer, Star Of Stage, Screen, ‘Sound Of Music,’ Dies At 91
New Translation Shares The Voice Of A Danish Poet Who Wrote As Intensely As She Lived
Tove Ditlevsen’s brilliance is evident when you read her confessional memoir, The Copenhagen Trilogy, which is newly available in a crisp translation by Tiina Nunnally and Michael Favala Goldman. Told in a sneakily plain, highly addictive voice, it’s the portrait of the artist as a young woman who wrote as hard as she lived. Continue Reading New Translation Shares The Voice Of A Danish Poet Who Wrote As Intensely As She Lived
‘The Ex Talk’ Is A Romance Novel Set At A Northwest Public Radio Station
Author Rachel Lynn Solomon based the story partly on her own experience. “Shay’s journey mirrors mine in a lot of ways,” she tells me via email. “We both studied journalism in college, and at the beginning of the book, she produces a talk show similar to the one I worked on in my early twenties. I also reported a handful of stories and produced a weekly pre-recorded show for Seattle’s KUOW. Continue Reading ‘The Ex Talk’ Is A Romance Novel Set At A Northwest Public Radio Station
‘She Persisted,’ Now In Chapter Book Form, Brings History To Life
Chelsea Clinton has taken her bestselling She Persisted series of picture books, and with the help of some pretty amazing women in their own right, is turning them into chapter books. Chapter books! Clinton says chapter books were not part of the original vision for She Persisted, but when she saw that kids were getting more and more curious about the women featured in the books, she decided to run with the idea. Continue Reading ‘She Persisted,’ Now In Chapter Book Form, Brings History To Life
Justin Timberlake Hopes New Movie ‘Palmer’ Will ‘Open Eyes, And Open Ears, And Open Hearts’
In the new film “Palmer,” Justin Timberlake plays Eddie, a former high school football star who comes back to his Louisiana hometown after more than a decade in prison. As he pieces together his new life, Eddie moves in with his grandmother and befriends her young neighbor, a boy named Sam. Continue Reading Justin Timberlake Hopes New Movie ‘Palmer’ Will ‘Open Eyes, And Open Ears, And Open Hearts’
Art Where You’re At: With Power, Poise And Confidence, These ‘Women R Beautiful’
Mama (Beautiful Skin) — Natal-San Miguel added the parenthesis — belongs to the Mint Museum in Charlotte, N.C. It’s part of their first online exhibition. Twenty six of Natal-San Miguel’s photos are on view in “Expanding the Pantheon: Women R Beautiful.” His subject in this one has vitiligo. Pigment is missing from parts of her skin. She’s dappled. And Natal-San Miguel sees her beauty. Continue Reading Art Where You’re At: With Power, Poise And Confidence, These ‘Women R Beautiful’
BOOK REVIEW: Charles Blow’s ‘The Devil You Know’ Is A Black Power Manifesto For Our Time
Some time into his new book The Devil You Know: A Black Power Manifesto, Charles Blow recalls hearing Harry Belafonte give a speech. Continue Reading BOOK REVIEW: Charles Blow’s ‘The Devil You Know’ Is A Black Power Manifesto For Our Time
Amanda Gorman’s Poetic Response To Pandemic Grief: ‘Do Not Ignore The Pain’
When Amanda Gorman wrote her poem, “The Miracle of Morning,” it was early on in the coronavirus pandemic, when we were only beginning to comprehend the scale of national mourning to come. But even then, she wanted to acknowledge the promise of healing, like the light of morning, that springs from despair. Continue Reading Amanda Gorman’s Poetic Response To Pandemic Grief: ‘Do Not Ignore The Pain’
13,140,000 Minutes: It’s Been 25 Years Since The First Performance Of ‘Rent’
On Jan. 25, 1996, a new rock musical by a little-known writer, Jonathan Larson, gave its first performance. Friends and family filed into a small off-Broadway theater to see Rent. The show was a retelling of La Boheme, set on the Lower East Side of New York, as people were dying of AIDS. It became an international phenomenon, winning the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award, among others, but the performance almost didn’t happen. Early that morning, Larson died of an aortic aneurysm. I spoke with some of the people who were there that night. Continue Reading 13,140,000 Minutes: It’s Been 25 Years Since The First Performance Of ‘Rent’
Misty Copeland’s ‘Bunheads’ Is An Ode To Friendship In The Dance Studio
The new children’s book by ballet star Misty Copeland is filled with direct nods to real people in her life who have encouraged her talent over the years, but also the more universal ways that dance friends become sources of inspiration for one other. Continue Reading Misty Copeland’s ‘Bunheads’ Is An Ode To Friendship In The Dance Studio
BOOK REVIEW: In ‘Remote Control,’ Drones Fly Over The Yam Fields Of A Near-Future Africa
At the start of the story, Fatima is a young Ghanian girl who has taken on the mantle of the Adopted Daughter of Death. Renamed Sankofa — an avian symbol of the West African Akan people, one that embodies the idea of harnessing the past to forge a better tomorrow — she wanders the land, inducing dread and awe in the towns she encounters, a living legend wielding the power of annihilation. The dead pile at her departing feet. Continue Reading BOOK REVIEW: In ‘Remote Control,’ Drones Fly Over The Yam Fields Of A Near-Future Africa
