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Book Commentary: Two Cheers for British Poet, Book Artist, and Visionary William Blake

April 30, 2013
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Susanne M. Sklar’s study is the best exploration of William Blake’s miraculously bewildering masterpiece that I know of — thoughtful, scholarly, imaginative, and supremely sympathetic to the poet’s ornery complexity as well as his capacity to inspire wonder.

Book Review: Words From a Bedeviled Life — “Mingus Speaks”

April 30, 2013
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The best parts of this book of interviews come when Charles Mingus or his collaborators talk about the music.

Concert Review: The Boston Lyric Opera Takes a Fresh Look at “The Flying Dutchman”

April 29, 2013
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The Boston Lyric Opera’s production of “The Flying Dutchman” may not the subtlest you will see — the Freudian elements are slathered on pretty thick — but the nervy dramatic concept adds to our understanding of the opera without compromising its core elements.

Film Review: In Defense of a Cinematic Masterpiece — “To the Wonder”

April 28, 2013
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To The Wonder — the best American feature by far of 2013: beautiful, compassionate, tragic, transcendent.

Visual Arts Review: At the Currier Museum of Art and the MFA — Bask in the Deadly Splendor of the Samurai

April 27, 2013
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The time is short, but the opportunity rich via these two exhibitions, to bask in the military culture of old Japan, with all of its deadly splendor.

Jazz Week 2013: After a tumultuous year, Boston looks ahead

April 26, 2013
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In the wake of the horrors of last week, Jazz Week 2013 comes as almost an act of defiance, an insistence that life will go on in all sectors of the Boston community.

Book Review: “The Bottom of the Jar” — An Indelible Glimpse of Moroccan Life

April 25, 2013
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Moroccan poet Abdellatif Laâbi’s autobiographical fiction draws deeply on his own childhood in Fez during the late 1940s and especially the 1950s.

Concert Review: Pianist Evgeny Kissin — An Extraordinary Recital

April 25, 2013
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In my experience, few leave an Evgeny Kissin concert disappointed.

Visual Arts Feature: The Design Museum Boston Invites You to Sit Yourself Down

April 24, 2013
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In a modest tweak of Dorothy Fields’ lyrics to the famous Jerome Kern song, this weekend will be Boston’s chance, via the Design Museum Boston, to sit yourself down, dust yourself off, and start all over again.

Music Commentary: The 15th Annual New England Metalfest — Blunt Over Pretty

April 23, 2013
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I was curious to see how the Boston Marathon bombing and subsequent events would filter into the fest. It began with my Facebook newsfeed displaying “Going to Worcester to blow off steam”-type messages.

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