Deeply indebted to her relationship to persons and places, José-Flore Tappy uses poetry as a way to revisit them, honoring the absent through poems co-created by memory and imagination.
Children’s Book Review: “Discovering” Thanksgiving
Many Thanksgiving myths are dispelled, but the effort to reverse decades of misinformation leads to oversimplification at times.
Television Review: “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” Season Two — No Sophomore Slump
Much of the charm of The Sex Lives of College Girls comes from how messy the girls are.
Book Review: “A Fan’s Life” — A Species of Madness?
In A Fan’s Life, Paul Campos makes a valiant stab at reconciling his avowedly progressive views on American politics and iconoclastic intellectual pursuits with his lifelong obsession with spectator sports.
Concert Review: Cappella Clausura’s Renaissance Portraits — Passion, Desire, and Adoration
Thoughtful and intriguing, the concert reminded listeners that a lot of great music has been marginalized and all but lost to history.
Book Review: “The Idea of Prison Abolition” — An Unconvincing Case
The Idea of Prison Abolition is a worthwhile book, but Dr. Shelby’s case, philosophically strong as it might be, is not very likely to convince prison abolitionists.
WATCH CLOSELY: “The Midnight Club” — Late Nights
The Midnight Club contains all the ingredients necessary for a perfect spooky season binge: a Gothic mansion, extremely disaffected yet self-aware young people, moody cinematography, and gorgeous interiors, including the coolest library you’ve ever seen.
Book Review: “Suzuki — The Man and his Dream to Teach the Children of the World”
Eri Hotta’s biography of Shinichi Suzuki is about optimism, gentleness, doggedness, belief in children, humanity, and the affirmative properties of art in the face of violence and ignorance.
Arts Remembrance: Art and Technology Guru George Fifield
The new media advocate, curator, and artist mentor passed away at the age of 72.
Television/Music Review: Next at the Kennedy Center — A Joni Mitchell Songbook, on PBS
I put Joni Mitchell on a short list of the most remarkable pop music artists of the ’60s and early ’70s. Longevity of excellence isn’t the point here, just peak incandescence.