Books
Mostly, Richard Polsky writes entertainingly about the art world in the American vernacular: cash. i sold Andy Warhol. (too soon) by Richard Polsky. other press, 288 pages, $23.95. Reviewed by Peter Walsh “The nature of the art business is that it’s filled with pettiness and jealousy…” complains art dealer Richard Polsky early in his new…
by Bill Marx Instead of a critique for World Books this past week I finished up a review of Australian writer Kate Grenville’s historical novel “The Lieutenant” for the “Los Angeles Times.” This is a well-written, well-meaning study of understanding between colonized and colonizers in the 18th century Australia; the emphasis is on the experiences…
It should be pointed out that in London it is possible to see more shows in a limited time than one can do in the United States. Why? Because it has long been the sensible practice to stagger weekday matinees. By Caldwell Titcomb Shakespeare first, of course. The British quite rightly never tire of “Hamlet.”…
Counterfactual thinking came to my mind while watching a documentary about the Kennedy clan that ran on public television after Ted Kennedy died. By Harvey Blume When Niall Ferguson is not slugging it out with Paul Krugman about whether deficit spending by the Obama administration will wreck the economy, as he swears it will, or…
By Helen Epstein No one reviews talks but I’ve just attended two by some highly gifted women that deserve wider notice. Director Anna Brownsted and actress Dana Harrison discussed their work on R.T. Rogers’ provocative play “White People” at Shakespeare & Company last week and author Brenda Wineapple gave a brilliant mini-seminar in American cultural…
White People by J.T. Rogers. Directed by Anna Brownsted. At Shakespeare and Company, Lenox, Massachusetts, through September 4. By Helen Epstein What can possibly connect a reflective young History professor in New York’s Stuyvesant Town, a disconsolate Southern housewife and ex-homecoming queen, and a demanding Midwestern corporate lawyer? In J.T. Rogers’ powerful drama White People…
In a living society every day is a day of judgment; and its recognition as such is not the end of all things but the beginning of a real civilization. – George Bernard Shaw, “The Simpleton of the Unexpected Isles,” preface, 1936. Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw. Directed by Gus Kaikkonen. Presented by The…
By Bill Marx The ruckus kicked up by Yale University Press’s refusal to include cartoons offensive to some Muslims in a forthcoming book called “The Cartoons that Shook the World” underlines the ironic difference between offensive words and images. (Perhaps Yale U Press should re-title the censored version of the book “The Cartoons That Only…
The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare. Directed by Steve Maler. Presented by Commonwealth Shakespeare Company at the Boston Common Parkman Bandstand, through August 16. Reviewed by Bill Marx Shakespeare can be punished by his own success. In “The Comedy of Errors” he juggles two sets of identical twins on stage with the dizzying aplomb…
by Helen Epstein Go here for information about a live-chat, scheduled for August 23rd, with Helen Epstein on “The Art of Narrative Writing.” HE: How did this situation evolve? JK: The basic facts are in the “NY Times” story. Yale University told the press to remove the illustrations: first the cartoons, then a second illustration,…
Recent Comments