Arts
The Arts
After Decades In The Background, Queer Characters Step To The Front In Kids’ Media
The Peabody award-winning series Steven Universe, which broke barriers in queer representation by airing the first LBGTQ wedding in a kid’s series when Ruby and Sapphire (who are actually living rocks, yes, but feminine-coded rocks who use she/her pronouns and present as female) got married. Continue Reading After Decades In The Background, Queer Characters Step To The Front In Kids’ Media
‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 15: Jennifer Griffin On Dyslexia And Playing To Its Strengths
In this episode of Traverse Talks with Sueann Ramella, speech language pathologist Jennifer Griffin talks about dyslexia and signs that you or your child may be suffering from it. Continue Reading ‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 15: Jennifer Griffin On Dyslexia And Playing To Its Strengths
The Limitations Of ‘Latinidad’: How Colorism Haunts ‘In The Heights’
On the Monday after the release of In the Heights, its creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda posted not a congratulatory note but an apology. Over the weekend, the conversation around colorism and In the Heights reached a fever pitch as more viewers began to wonder why there weren’t any dark-skinned Afro-Latinos in any of the leading roles to represent a place as diverse as Washington Heights. Continue Reading The Limitations Of ‘Latinidad’: How Colorism Haunts ‘In The Heights’
FILM REVIEW: Dive Into ‘Luca’ And ‘Undine,’ 2 Under-The-Sea Films To Treasure
By curious coincidence, two of the lovelier movies I’ve seen so far this summer — the family-friendly animated fable Luca and the German art-house fairy tale Undine — tell stories about mythic sea creatures making contact with the human world. That’s hardly a new concept, as we’ve seen in films as different as The Shape of Water, Aquaman and countless versions of The Little Mermaid. But as Luca and Undine demonstrate, there are still fresh stories to be dredged up from these watery depths. Continue Reading FILM REVIEW: Dive Into ‘Luca’ And ‘Undine,’ 2 Under-The-Sea Films To Treasure
‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 14: Chigozie Obioma On Finding Differences And Similarities Between Cultures
In this episode of Traverse Talks with Sueann Ramella, author Chigozie Obioma talks about how his time in Cyprus for school and growing up in Nigeria shaped his work, the types of racism he has experienced in his travels and the meaning behind his name. Continue Reading ‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 14: Chigozie Obioma On Finding Differences And Similarities Between Cultures
BOOK REVIEW: This Family Saga Finds Grace And Beauty In Ordinary Lives, Fully Lived
Read at night, at the end of a too-long day, and characters will enter and exit the rooms of memory, trailing the scent of cigarette smoke and faded perfume. With Simon Van Booy’s new novel, Night Came With Many Stars, open in front of me, I know the smell of summer afternoons and the pattern of paint spattered on a workingman’s boots. I can hear the bugs in the dark and feel the spill of light from a house at the end of a long, dirt drive. Find a book that speaks a language you know and you can drown in it without even realizing. Continue Reading BOOK REVIEW: This Family Saga Finds Grace And Beauty In Ordinary Lives, Fully Lived
‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 13: Christine Hemp On Finding Your True North
Author Christine Hemp talks about her latest book, a memoir “Wild Ride Home,” finding red flags in relationships, taking care of aging parents and always keeping your true north. She is an author, poet, musician, speaker and teacher. Continue Reading ‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 13: Christine Hemp On Finding Your True North
‘In The Heights’ Star Anthony Ramos Says The Movie Sees ‘Good In Every Hood’
The first time actor Antony Ramos saw In the Heights, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway production about a Latinx community in New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood, he was floored. Continue Reading ‘In The Heights’ Star Anthony Ramos Says The Movie Sees ‘Good In Every Hood’
‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 12: Becky Albertalli & Scott Leadingham On Literature Helping Form Identity
In this unique episode of “Traverse Talks with Sueann Ramella,” NWPB’s Scott Leadingham interviews author Becky Albertalli. The two talk about identity, representation of LGBTQIA+ books in school libraries, and how people come out and present themselves to the world. Continue Reading ‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 12: Becky Albertalli & Scott Leadingham On Literature Helping Form Identity
BOOK REVIEW: ‘House Of Sticks’ Is An Immigrant Success Story With Filial Bonds At The Core
Ly Tran’s memoir House of Sticks brings to mind both the story of The Three Little Pigs and the myth of the unassimilated other in Francois Truffaut’s The Wild Child (L’Enfant Sauvage), in its unsentimental yet deeply moving examination of filial bond, displacement, war trauma, and poverty. Continue Reading BOOK REVIEW: ‘House Of Sticks’ Is An Immigrant Success Story With Filial Bonds At The Core
A New Report Shows Museums Had A Bad Year — But Not The Worst Possible
Billy Ocasio feels like one of the country’s luckier museum directors. He runs the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, still standing strong in Chicago after the pandemic wiped out dozens of small museums across the country. Continue Reading A New Report Shows Museums Had A Bad Year — But Not The Worst Possible
‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 11: Backyard Harvest On The Importance Of Food And Community
In this episode of “Traverse Talks with Sueann Ramella,” Will O’Neal and Renee Love, leaders within the organization Backyard Harvest, share how the group serves its community and how both they and many of their volunteers got a close-up view of food insecurity within local households. Continue Reading ‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 11: Backyard Harvest On The Importance Of Food And Community
