Review

Reviews and Retrospective: Jane Ira Bloom’s “once like a spark” and “Songs in Space”

December 30, 2025
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2025 turned out to be a feast year for devotees of soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom. The music found on both of these releases could be thought of as exemplifying three areas Bloom has explored in depth and refined to purity.

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Book Review: “Call Me Ishmaelle” — Was This Reboot Necessary?

December 29, 2025
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Applying a litmus test to art — in this case ideological sanitizing — inevitably diminishes the art.

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Translation Spotlight: Haunted and Haunting

December 29, 2025
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Appreciations of three remarkable translated works that have preoccupied me for months.

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Book Review: “The Coroner’s Silence” — A Chilling Inquiry into Institutional Indifference

December 28, 2025
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The title of this revelatory book might suggest that it’s limited to uncovering the deficiencies and biases of a particular profession. But “The Coroner’s Silence” is far more than that.

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Book Review: “Unfinished” Argues for AI as an Artistic Partner — But at What Cost?

December 27, 2025
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“Unfinished” supplies a thoughtful analysis of the relationship between music, musicians, and AI.

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Film Review: “Marty Supreme” — A Thrilling, Empty Trip Through Ego and Excess

December 24, 2025
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It can’t be denied that “Marty Supreme” is effective as a wild trip. It’s an immersive experience — not an analysis of its self-adoring anti-hero.

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Film Review: “Is This Thing On?” — Stand-Up Dramatics

December 24, 2025
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What’s harder … performing comedy onstage or making a marriage work?

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Dance Review: Anne Plamondon Productions — Emotional Rescue

December 23, 2025
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In “Myokine”, the ensemble itself is under interrogation: can these dancers connect enough to rescue each other? Can they form bonds of solidarity?

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Poetry Review: The Devil’s Sonnets — John Berryman’s “Only Sing”

December 23, 2025
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Poet John Berryman’s choice of minstrelsy in his “Dream Songs” is not just a distraction that can be explained away by aficionados — it is impossible to excuse or forgive.

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Theater Feature: Favorite Boston-Area Stage Productions of 2025 — The Year of the Ostrich

December 20, 2025
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Our critics salute the year’s outstanding productions, with some commentary on the state of the art.

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