dirac

Supporting the Arts: the Guardian asks interested parties what the next Government should do or not do, for the arts. A quote from the director Nicholas Hytner: http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/funding/sto...1464864,00.html

Thanks for mentioning that New Yorker article, anthony_NYC. I had forgotten about it. Here is Menand’s review, for those who are curious: http://www.newyorker.com/critics/books/?040628crbo_books1 Much of what Menand says is on target. In defense of Truss, I’d point out that many of his strictures are less matters of correctness than taste. It’s legitimate to fool around with your commas for the sake of emphasis and effect as long as you know what you’re doing. (I tend to overuse commas myself, and so I felt defensive on Truss’ behalf. .)

April is National Poetry Month. A brief article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/books/218322_tf101.html

I was watching the National Ballet of Canada’s “Giselle”on DVD this weekend (starring Karen Kain and Frank Augustyn). I found myself getting a trifle distracted by the Wilis’ costume, which seemed to me to be more fairylike than ghostlike. I am wondering how good or bad costuming affects (or does not affect) your enjoyment of a production. Does it make a large or small difference – are you seriously distracted by it, or can you enjoy the ballet anyway? And do feel free to give examples.

oberon, I'm losing it. You mentioned Hull's name in the topic. Thank you for being nice about it. I once skipped half a day of school to finish The French Lieutenant's Woman.

Thanks for the report, oberon. I hadn't heard of this book. What is the author's name?

I noted that Truss refers to “printers’ marks” – right up front, too – and she doesn’t seem to understand how the semicolon is used. Physician, heal thyself, etc. Let us know what you think of it, bart.

I apologize for having to dissent, but I did read this -- it doesn't take long -- and while some of it was very funny I thought it was a trifle -- well, obvious. Shooting fish in a barrel, in a way. Of course, if people find it instructive, then it can only do good.

Do report back after you make her acquaintance, GWTW.

I finished this recently and must eat a certain amount of crow. Much better than expected. Sorry, Ms. Bentley!

Michael Billington reviews Vanessa Redgrave as Hecuba, in a production coming to Washington and New York. In the Sixties, Redgrave played Andromache opposite Katharine Hepburn’s Hecuba in Michael Cacoyannis’ very good film of “The Trojan Women.” It will be interesting to see what she does with the role, for those fortunate enough to have the opportunity to see her: http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/reviews/sto...1454968,00.html

Eagerly awaiting reports. I have a thing for the tango. I tried it myself once, but I looked like a disabled war veteran. My partner endured his martyrdom gallantly.

For The Nation, David Yaffe discusses recent books on, and activities related to, Bob Dylan. He mentions in passing that Twyla Tharp has a new dance in the works on the subject of His Bobness.: http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20050425&s=yaffe

Indeed. Judging by the current lineup, maybe they should be calling them “Not So Great Performances.”

Very true, the correct label can make all the difference in expectations. Bathory like to take baths in their blood, as she was under the impression that this would prevent her aging. Apparently she started out as just your garden variety torturer/sadist, and then she advanced to taking bites out of her victims. Eventually she had guardsmen kidnap village girls and bleed them dry in a big vat, and then she’d do her thing. I guess that might present difficulties for the prop department, now that I consider the matter.

Herman, I forgot to add to my previous post that this remark made me think back a bit -- I never thought about it before, but in so many pictures of Bellow he's wearing these great hats!

I remember a writer – I think it was the music critic Andrew Porter or was it Denby? – who spoke admiringly of the effects Balanchine achieved with the court sarabande – as the dance went on, that sense of heaviness grew on you, and you felt you were in the stifling atmosphere of Philip IV’s Escorial. (I haven’t checked my dates before posting this, so I might have cited the wrong Philip.)

Thank you for that memory, Herman. I envy you. We are indeed lucky to have been around at the same time as he. I agree, Bellow had a Dickensian verve and flair for vivid characterization – Cantabile in Humboldt’s Gift springs to mind, but there are so many others! Dickens had a darker view of life in many ways, and although he used first person narration he didn’t use it in the contemporary sense that Bellow does – there’s a direct line from Augie to Herzog to Citrine to Chick – variations on the same theme, or the same guy. It’s interesting that you mention The Dean’s December – I thought Bellow was making a specific effort there to separate Corde from his immediate predecessors, which didn’t quite succeed. Him With His Foot in His Mouth is a great collection. I loved “A Silver Dish” especially. It's odd, I loved Herzog when I first read it, but it hasn't worn well for me. I'm always trying to plug The Victim -- it's a grim book, but it's so good.

I didn't mean to imply or infer that you needed to apologize. Sorry! Thanks for the info, Marga, you saved me having to look it up.

It was me doing the niggling, not carbro. I wasn’t picking on Kudelka, who has big things on his mind, I'm sure -- just couldn’t resist pointing it out for the record. Now that I think about it, he may very well have been trying for both senses – strength and skill, so to speak. Who did the original costumes – was it Karinska? I forget.

Thanks, bart. A wide-ranging set of queries to get us going! For those who are curious, there was a recent RAND study on making the case for arts funding, which is available for downloading on the Wallace Foundation website (www.wallacefoundation.org). The description from the foundation website is below: An executive summary (nine pages): http://www.wallacefoundation.org/NR/rdonly...eMuseExSumm.pdf The complete report (over a hundred pages): http://www.wallacefoundation.org/NR/rdonly...he_MuseText.pdf

The Guardian posts a quiz on Wagner's Ring: http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/quiz/questi...1452062,00.html

You need a subscription to read it online, but the Wall Street Journal has an article by Jeffrey Meyers. Excerpt:

Thank you, Joseph, that's nice to hear. And if the audiences were engaged by the productions, that's always good, too. Yes, many of the basics are there -- perhaps it's the sensationalism of the material that leads people astray. I wonder if we'll ever get a ballet about Elisabeth Bathory? Lots of good opportunities for the corps, I'd think.

As a rule, you will see "masterful" where "masterly" was clearly intended, but you will not see the reverse nearly as often. The first meaning of "masterful" as "imperious, domineering" is not especially new. It is all too true that they are used interchangeably, but it is unfortunate that a useful distinction is being lost. However, it's been on the way out for some time now, so I suppose there are now only a few of us clinging to the flag. It will be interesting to see how the ballet is received this time around.