The New Yorker's Alex Ross on the decline of arts criticism

THE FATE OF THE CRITIC IN THE CLICKBAIT AGE
by Alex Ross, The New Yorker, March 13, 2017

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Harper Lee, 89

Harper Lee, Author of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ Dies at 89
by William Grimes, The New York Times, February 19, 2016

American dance criticism: RIP?

The Death of the American Dance Critic
Why are there so few mainstream outlets covering the art form?
by Madison Mainwaring, The Atlantic, August 6, 2015

******

My comment:

If mainstream dance criticism is dead, the appropriate question is: What's next? Not all dance blogs are ballet-centric or inaccessible in language. Mainwaring could have explored a little further and discovered US dance writing in venues like The Brooklyn Rail and my own blog, InfiniteBody, that continues sensitive observation, documentation, analysis and sharing of meaningful experiences with dance. Dance writing in mainstream media has withered, yes, for all of the reasons that Mainwaring details, but dance writers are still out here, using our knowledge and skills in service to an art we greatly respect and love. We would appreciate your acknowledgement and support.

Publisher Lisa C. Moore lists most influential Black lesbian writers

I wouldn’t be the editor — or the person — I am today if I hadn’t read the work of these extraordinary women.

 --Lisa C. Moore, publisher, Redbone Press

Read more at:

The Black Lesbian Writers You Need To Be Reading
by Lisa C. Moore, Buzzfeed LGBT, July 28, 2015

Time Out New York eliminates dance section. Take action!

I just received this news from a dance community colleague and wanted to quickly share it with you. Take action. Just do it!

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I'm writing with some urgent news about the state of dance coverage at Time Out New York -- and to encourage you to take action.

Dance editor Gia Kourlas has resigned. Her last day will be May 1, and the status of her replacement is unknown.

 
Gia's decision coincides with changes at the magazine that include the elimination of dance as a stand-alone section. Dance, in a much-abbreviated form, has been integrated into a new Theater and Dance section. This week, the magazine does not have a feature profiling a dance artist, and the section has been diminished to one page with just eight listings and no photos.

    
Write a letter to the magazine telling them how essential dance is to New York City cultural life, and how important -- and trusted -- TONY's coverage of dance has been. If you're a producer, ask the magazine why you should continue to advertise in a publication that doesn't respect dance on par with other art forms. If you're an artist, explain how crucial these features were in building an audience and support for your work.

 

Send letters ASAP to the following individuals:

Editor-in-Chief Terri White terri.white@timeout.com

Deputy Editor Carla Sosenko carla.sosenko@timeout.com

Managing Editor Ethan LaCroix ethan.lacroix@timeout.com

with a CC to letters@timeoutny.com 

New York Times now has zero Black culture writers

Following Layoffs, NYT Culture Section Devoid Of Black Reporters
by Jackson O'Connor, The Huffington Post, December 19, 2014

New York Times shows veteran music critic the door

A terrible mistake at the New York Times
by Norman Lebrecht, The New York Times, December 18, 2014

Jacqueline Woodson: Publishing must and will change

The Pain of the Watermelon Joke
by Jacqueline Woodson, The New York Times, November 28, 2014

Allan Kornblum, 65

Allan Kornblum, Independent Publisher, Dies at 65
by William Yardley, The New York Times, November 26, 2014

Al Feldstein, 88

Soul of Mad Magazine, Al Feldstein Dies at 88
by Bruce Weber, The New York Times, May 1, 2014

Get to know "Black Dance Magazine"

What's new on the horizon? How about a print and online magazine dedicated to the work of dancers of color?

Get to know the up-and-coming Black Dance Magazine, published in partnership with the International Association of Blacks in Dance.

Norma Porter Anthony of Black Dance Magazine

Publisher/Editor Norma Porter Anthony writes:

In 2003, I began pursuing a degree in Journalism. I left the dance world, and began writing on everything from local and national education issues to business to community news.

Almost 15 years later, media coverage of the dance industry still fails to address the fact that there are viable, professional dancers of color, companies and teachers doing amazing things in the field.

I realize now that if there was a publication dedicated to “chasing the rhythms of dancers of every hue,” I probably would not have made the decision to abandon dance and pursue a “more stable” career. If I knew that there were opportunities for dancers of color, with different body types, maybe I would have made a different choice.

To subscribe or read articles online (current cover story: Hope Boykin of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater), click here.

André Schiffrin, 78

André Schiffrin, Publishing Force and a Founder of New Press, Is Dead at 78

by Robert D. McFadden, The New York Times, December 1, 2013

Writers of color in science fiction and fantasy

Beyond ‘Game of Thrones’: Exploring diversity in speculative fiction

by Mindy Farabee, Hero Complex, Los Angeles Times, June 9, 2013

In support of writers' rights

The Slow Death of the American Author
by Scott Turow, The New York Times, April 7, 2013

Book Awards go for glamour

Book Awards Seek a Bigger Splash, Red Carpet and All
by Leslie Kaufman, The New York Times, November 11, 2012

Live to Tell: Black queer writers speak out [AUDIO]

Stanley Bennett Clay

Imani Henry

Cheryl Boyce-Taylor

Our voices are important to the fabric of who we are and to America.

-- Terrance Dean

If you happened to miss last evening's exciting and motivating panel, Live to Tell: The Life and Legacy of Black Queer Literature, never fear: I've got it for you right here.

Presented by the Black Gay & Lesbian Archive of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in conjunction with author Terrance Dean, the panel addressed issues of access to mainstream publication, the unique value and struggles of independent Black LGBT publishers, the uses and abuses of social media, the inspiration of trailblazers and hell-raisers--from James Baldwin to Staceyann Chin--and much, much more.

Steven G. Fullwood, Project Director of the Schomburg's Black Gay & Lesbian Archive, introduced the program and moderated a panel that included (in the order first heard on this recording):

Stanley Bennett Clay

Cheryl Boyce-Taylor

Terrance Dean

James Earl Hardy

Imani Henry

G. Winston James

To download an mp3 of Live to Tell, click here. [2:32:38]

For information on future programs of the Black Gay & Lesbian Archive--including Ordinary People, a film and book club series running from October 2012 to June 2013--follow the Schomburg Center on Facebook, Twitter @SchomburgCenter or Tumblr.

Dance critic Tobi Tobias remembers Bill Como

Admittedly, Bill and I were an odd match. We must have disagreed about three-quarters of the issues that came our way. Our artistic taste was light years apart. Just for instance, he was a Béjart guy; I was a Balanchine gal. (Need any more be said?)

-- Tobi Tobias on Dance Magazine's Bill Como

Beginning in the dynamic 1970s, Tobi Tobias was my first review editor at Dance Magazine at the launch of my professional writing career and, along with Burt Supree at The Village Voice, eagerly sent me out on a million quests for what's interesting in dance across all kinds of traditions and techniques. (So, now you know who to thank--or blame, perhaps--as I do.) Here's a spot-on, gorgeous blog post about the start of her own dance writing career and her working relationship with Bill Como, the magazine's editor-in-chief from 1970-1988, who died in January 1989.

The Boss: Personal Indulgences No. 21
by Tobi Tobias, Seeing Things, ArtsJournal.com, January 16, 2012

Barbara Grier, Publisher of Lesbian Books, 78

Barbara Grier, Publisher of Lesbian Books, Dies at 78
by Paul Vitello, The New York Times, November 13, 2011

Fall in love...with Fire & Ink

 

Fire & Ink, Inc. 

invites you to

Fall in Love: A Erotic Reading and Fundraiser

Saturday November 12 (7-10pm)

Enjoy a fun-filled evening of food, festivities, music and a special reading featuring Cheryl Clarke, Reginald Harris, Herukhuti, G. Winston James, Ana-Maurine Lara and Mingus.

For your visual stimulation, artist Charly Dominguez will be showing (and selling) original paintings commissioned for this special event.

There will also be a silent auction and a chance to win a bundle of black queer books to take home.

213 Taaffe Place #114, Brooklyn

$25 admission
Hosted by Lisa C. Moore and Steven G. Fullwood,
President and Vice President of the Board of Fire & Ink, Inc.

Short Documentary: Art from Adversity on Vimeo

Short Documentary: Art from Adversity on Vimeo
by Robert Penn

One of the many New York City community organizations that formed in response to the AIDS epidemic is a writers group for Black Gay Men. In honor of James Baldwin's signature work, Another Country, the group selected the name Other Countries. It held its first writers workshop on June 14, 1986. Over the next year, it developed a three pronged program of peer critique, performance and publishing. In its 25 years, Other Countries has published three volumes of work by Black gay men and women. The most recent VOICES RISING came out in January 2007. The workshop continues each 2nd and 4th Saturday at NYC's LGBT Community Center from 6pm to 9pm. Many past and current members have gone on to publish work that "went through" the workshop. Several have developed their craft and have worked in publishing, arts management and television. Though many of its founding members died twenty years ago, their spirit of affinity continues to nurture and foster creativity and appreciation of the life we have, here and now.

Watch this documentary here.