Pinsky_Regatta_1-18-25©Eric Antoniou_8

Concert Review: PoemJazz — Pure Poetry, Pure Music

Coming Attractions

Coming Attractions: January 19 through February 3 — What Will Light Your Fire

Our expert critics supply a guide to film, visual art, theater, author readings, and music. More offerings will be added as they come in.

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The Arts Fuse Currents

Music

Concert Review: PoemJazz — Pure Poetry, Pure Music

By Jon Garelick | January 22, 2025

“PoemJazz” is a project where music and poetry reinforce each other, where the declaimed poetry works like the sung line of a song — though Robert Pinsky never sings or pretends to.

Visual Arts

Arts Commentary: Candy Rappers of 2024 — Remembering Candy Darling

By Trevor Fairbrother | January 9, 2025

It is clear to Candy Darling’s biographer that the present moment contains alarming reminders of the political scapegoating generated by the culture wars of the ’90s. She leaves no doubt that her subject’s difficult, complicated life embodies a cautionary tale.

Film

Film Review: “Presence” — The Spectre of the Middle Class

By Steve Erickson | January 22, 2025

More than the threat posed by the ghost, “Presence” is desperately terrified of ambiguity.

Books

Book Review: “There is a Deep Brooding in Arkansas” — A Painful But Essential History Lesson

By Bill Littlefield | January 21, 2025

The publication of “There is a Deep Brooding in Arkansas” is especially welcome and necessary at this time.

Poetry at The Arts Fuse

Weekly Feature: Poetry at The Arts Fuse

January 15, 2025

This week’s poem: Clara Burghelea’s “How to resist gluttonous grief”

Dance

Dance Preview: Feeling Together — Omayra Amaya’s Flamenco Returns

By Debra Cash | January 21, 2025

International flamenco artist Omayra Amaya’s upcoming Boston shows represent a moment of both reunion and reflection.

Theater

Theater Review – Audra McDonald Dazzles as Mama Rose in a Star-Powered “Gypsy” Revival

By Christopher Caggiano | January 17, 2025

In a production filled with emotional intensity, Audra McDonald delivers a powerhouse portrayal that elevates a somewhat uneven staging.

Television

Television Review: “Aaron Rodgers: Enigma” — An Abstruse Athlete

By David Daniel | January 19, 2025

“Enigma” is as unlike the standard sports documentary as a Cybertruck is to a F-150.

Podcasts

Short Fuse Podcast #69: Talking About “The Museum of Other People”

By Elizabeth Howard | September 10, 2024

Short Fuse host Elizabeth Howard talks to Adam Kuper about his book “The Museum of Other People: From Colonial Acquisitions to Cosmopolitan Exhibitions”.

Short Fuses

January Short Fuses — Materia Critica

By Arts Fuse Editor | January 1, 2025

Each month, our arts critics — music, book, theater, dance, television, film, and visual arts — fire off a few brief reviews.

Spotlight

The 19th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Poll: The Shape of Jazz That Keeps Us Going

By Tom Hull | January 10, 2025

The creative force behind jazz is so strong and so universal that the music will continue to sustain us through whatever perils and calamities the upper echelons of business and politics land us in.

About the Arts Fuse

The Arts Fuse was established in June, 2007 as a curated, independent online arts magazine dedicated to publishing in-depth criticism, along with high quality previews, interviews, and commentaries. The publication's over 70 freelance critics (many of them with decades of experience) cover dance, film, food, literature, music, television, theater, video games, and visual arts. Support arts coverage that believes that culture matters.