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Patti Smith and the ’60s
Bob Ingram’s review of Patti Smith’s Just Kids is so wonderful, so brilliant in that he brings so many memories to life again.
Yes, I was on the edges at that moment, working for
Ramparts magazine and making my contribution to “changing the world.” Bob feels it all and allows us to remember again what it felt like.
Dinny Zimmerman
Peterborough, N.H.
April 20, 2011
Lydia and Hispanic-Americans
After reading Jim Rutter’s review of Lydia, I’m curious about his sensibilities regarding both Hispanic-American and American culture. He speaks of both cultures as if they were mutually exclusive. He challenges Octavio Solis to “resist” assimilation in order to continue to produce art that you might consider to remain true to his heritage.
How does Rutter characterize Hispanic-American culture? How does he characterize American culture? Should culture be characterized?
All Hispanic-Americans are not immigrants, all immigrants are not illegal, and all Hispanics are not Mexican. I would also argue that all Hispanic-American families are not “characterized” by a “mixture of poetry, magic, and dysfunction” any more than families represented by Sarah Ruhl, August Wilson, Velina Hasu-Houston or, as Rutter mentioned, Williams, O’Neill, and Miller.
Is it the responsibility of Octavio Solis, who was born in El Paso, Texas, to represent “his” culture in its entirety? Why is it especially notable that Solis’ dramatic choices echo pieces of the American theater canon, which is part of Solis’s (and any American playwright’s) literary inheritance? Why can’t Solis just tell his story (as August Wilson advises)?
Gina Pisasale
Media, Pa.
April 20, 2011
Maira Kalman
I am so glad Jane Biberman reviewed the Maira Kalman show in New York, especially since I missed the Philadelphia show at the Institute of Contemporary Art. I was thrilled to discover I had another chance to see it.
I’ve adored the work of Maira Kalman for years and, despite a moratorium on book purchases since I aspire to live unencumbered in one room, I’ve bought many of this quirky artist’s books, and not just the ones about dogs, either.
Although Maira Kalman’s work may seem deliberately naive/primitive, I find it elegant, eloquent, poetic and, as Jane Biberman points out in her excellent review, art-as-metaphor.
Maralyn Lois Polak
Center City/ Philadelphia
April 21, 2011
Antioch College, R.I.P.
Re “The demise of Antioch College,” by Ralph Keyes (August 2007)—
This is excruciating. I too am a 1967 graduate of Antioch, which I loved and was formative in my life. It’s where I learned how to study really hard and read, investigate and observe before making impulsive judgments. Those were essential values for news reporting, my mission for years.
A visit to campus in the 1990s was demoralizing. I learned about the school’s closing in an e-mail from a friend. What institution facing dissolution wouldn’t urgently appeal to alumni? Many things were amiss there.
We alumni are fortunate to have experienced Antioch when it was academically rigorous and represented wonderful ideals. Thanks to Ralph Keyes for giving voice to what so many have felt.
Prucia Buscell
Bordentown, N.J.
April 22, 2011
Paris in Philadelphia? Why?
Marshall A, Ledger’s “On recreating Paris in Philadelphia” was a brilliant response to the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts and, I think, exactly right. Philadelphia is a great arts town, but no one outside of Philadelphia seems to know that. I don’t see how this festival will change that— April isn’t exactly prime tourist season.
I’m sure the festival will be great fun for denizens of Greater Philadelphia— I’m looking forward to several of the events myself. It’s as though the organizers thought Philadelphia wasn’t good enough on its own, and somehow the cachet of Paris would rub off. Typical.
On a side note: From 1914-1918, Paris was filled with war refugees, under strict rationing and being bombarded from time to time by the Germans. Ah, gay Paree! That doesn’t seem to be a part of any of the PIFA publicity.
Aaron Oster
Collingswood, N.J.
April 13, 2011
‘Hopper and His Times’
Re Robert Zaller’s review of “Hopper and His Times”—
How astonishing! In hardly more than a thousand words, Zaller recapitulates 20th Century American realism, from Ashcan to Precisionist and beyond.
Even a sound theological speculation: Hopper rejects the facile materialism that inevitably led to the blindness of casino capitalism that hobbles us now more and more. Now, that’s art crit with a brilliant payoff for all who would see beneath and beyond a strong individual voice.
Patrick D. Hazard
Weimar, Germany
April 18, 2011
Simon’s Laughter, circa 1953
Re Dan Rottenberg’s review of Neil Simon’s Laughter On the 23rd Floor—
Damn! 1953, when I had my first 12th-grade class at East Lansing (Mich.) High, and I taught those students to admire Paddy Chayefsky and Sid Caesar (even though some Michigan State faculty parents accused me thus of dumbing down “their” curriculum). And Michigan State got its own UHF TV channel, on which I talked the kids into staging a weekly TV show, “Everyman is a Critic,” where we discussed teenage leisure.
I later chided the TV brass at Penn’s new Annenberg School for their dumbing down the new medium, missing what Dan saw: that TV’s short Golden Age was strictly for the uppers who could afford a set. And that attracting the Midwest muddles was the tough task assigned New York Jews.
Well, they did it, with the likes of Jerry Seinfeld and Baltimore Jew Dave Simon, of “Wired.
I’m sorry I missed how lucky I was to have a class of 12th graders of university faculty and General Motors executive parents. And that TV’s “decline” paralleled the movies’ first generation of talkies.
Patrick D. Hazard
Weimar, Germany
April 16, 2011
Milton Babbitt
I really enjoyed Kile Smith’s beautifully written article, “How I learned to love Milton Babbitt.”
I have wondered for years how to listen to Babbitt. Heard a concert years ago of his work, coupled with Thea Musgrave’s short work, Owl Creek. I loved her piece and was mystified by his. But his students at Juilliard revered him. I’ve been in the dark since then. Will try again. Mille grazie!
Gena Raps
New York
April 14, 2011
Editor’s note: The writer is a professor of piano and chamber music at Mannes College/The New School For Music.
Kile Smith replies: I don’t have it figured out— I hardly have anything figured out— but it’s a wonderful journey, isn’t it? The trying again is a beautiful response.
Lyric Fest’s Paris festival
I want to express my appreciation for Tom Purdom’s review of Lyric Fest’s “Stranger Things: Paris in the Early 20th Century.” Thank you-, Tom, for writing it, for your discerning comments and for your love of song.
Randi Marrazzo
West Mount Airy/ Philadelphia
April 13, 2011
Editor‘s note: The writer is a co-founding artistic director of Lyric Fest.
Pastor Jones and the Koran
Re “Pastor Jones, the Koran and the rest of us”—
While I agree with Robert Zaller in general, alas, I must point out that the quote from Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes is wrong and the case (Schenck v. United States, 1919) actually limits speech. The references miss the word falsely and it inserts the word crowded.
Here’s the actual quote by Justice Holmes in the Schenck case:
"The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic.... The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent.” (Italics added.)
Holmes and the Schenk court found that the speech in question— flyers protesting the draft in World War I— was not protected. Later, the Supreme Court, in the Brandenburg v. Ohio case (1969), held that banned speech required that the lawless action be imminent.
Joseph Glantz
Levittown, Pa.
April 9, 2011
Robert Zaller replies: Joseph Glantz is of course correct in pointing out that Justice Holmes declared there is no right to falsely shout, “Fire!” in a crowded theater. My abbreviation of the dictum is common, simply because the natural (and proper) instinct would be to alert audience members to a fire if in fact there was one. We would censure a person who, seeing the fire, rationally calculated that his best chance of escaping it would be to leave quietly before anyone else could notice it.
Theater of War
Re Robert Zaller’s review of Theater of War—
To Zaller’s comment that making the event apolitical in fact made it political, I must disagree. I was one of the panelists and wished to participate in order to provide the public with an authentic perspective of a service member. Our personal stories, which carry very similar themes, have been lost in the myriad of media coverage, public debate and politics. I believe that Theater of War’s intent was to focus on the experiences and struggles that service members endure.
The debate over just and unjust war must be continued through civil debate— that I agree. But the topic of war is complicated, and it’s easy for us to go in circles. Theater of War was just trying to keep us focused on the specific task at hand.
Sean Casey
West Philadelphia
April 11, 2011
Robert Zaller replies: I certainly didn’t mean to imply that Captain Casey’s remarks as a panelist, or those of his colleagues, were anything less than truthful and sincere. It takes courage to be a soldier, and no less courage to speak about battlefield experience. The panel itself, however, was embedded in a larger program that included a dramatic performance and a subsequent discussion with the audience based on both the panel and the performance. This made war itself the subject, and you can hardly discuss it as an abstraction when your country is engaged in three current wars.
The problem I had with Theater of War was similar to the one I had with Kathryn Bigelow’s Academy Award-winning film, The Hurt Locker. That film effectively and unflinchingly examined the experience of the Iraq war from the foot soldier’s perspective. It left completely unaddressed the question of what my fellow countrymen were doing in Iraq in the first place.
We don’t have a citizen assembly, as the ancient Athenians did. Our theater is the closest thing to that we possess. When the subject of war is opened up in it, room for all views must be accorded.
Pride of Parnell Street
Re The Pride of Parnell Street, at Act II Playhouse in Ambler—
Thank you, Robert Zaller, for understanding this play and writing a most honest and heartfelt review. You are spreading the news about our little gem in Ambler and hopefully spiking interest in those outside of our neighborhood. We take great pride in the show as well as in our director, Harriet Power.
Merle Holman
Wynnewood, Pa.
April 5, 2011
Editor’s note: The writer is president of the Act II Playhouse board.
Mabaso on goldfish
Noting that Alaina Mabaso (reviewer of Battle: Los Angeles) studied theater at my old alma matrix, Beaver College, I dipped idly into her blog. But when I saw her theme was raising goldfish, I reached for the “block that blog” button.
But her first visual arrested my bloggishness. Holey moley. I was wiped out by her fastidious attention to the creative powers of that “lower” species. Genesis redivivus!
I quickly signed on to her blog. Try it. You’ll love its quirky sanity.
Patrick D. Hazard
Weimar, Germany
April 5, 2011
Elizabeth Taylor’s lesson
Re “Elizabeth Taylor’s ultimate lesson”—
Thank you, SaraKay Smullens, for that interesting “psycho” analysis of Liz. I had never really thought about the issues you raised in her life (and yours) but found them quite insightful. I will never look at her in quite the same way again.
Jane Breslin Jacobs, Esq.
Spring Garden/ Philadelphia
March 30, 2011
What a lovely and generous article— elegiac and insightful at the same time. Thank you, SaraKay Smullens.
Maralyn Lois Polak
Center City/ Philadelphia
April 9, 2011
Let Me Down Easy
Re Anna Deavere Smith’s Let Me Down Easy—
It was excellent theater, but my friend and I walked out feeling profoundly sad. We felt sapped of energy. Perhaps one’s life experience affects the reaction to this play.
I can’t help wishing that tragedy and pain weren’t so appealing to moviemakers, playwrights and theater owners. I used to sneer at folks my senior who said they just wanted to be entertained, but these days I begin to echo that wish.
In light of my own horrible experiences with family in the world of cancer, callous treatment and hospital error, current nuclear destruction in Japan, war in Libya and every other affliction we are showered with daily, I sure would prefer to celebrate some of the joy in this world.
Of course this is only my wish and not a directive to anyone. I only wish I had known how depressing the play was. My choice would have been not to attend.
Joan Myerson Shrager
Elkins Park, Pa.
March 30, 2011
Dan Rottenberg’s recollections about his father-in-law, Dr. I. Edward Rubin, struck a chord. My father was an optician, and Ed Rubin was part of a small group of ophthalmologists with whom he interacted.
When I was a lad helping my dad at his store, I occasionally visited Dr. Rubin’s office and met him and his wife. To use Anna Deavere Smith’s language in Let Me Down Easy, the Rubins were known, and are known, and I carry good memories of them.
I’d like to note a few other ophthalmologists who were in the same professional and social circle: Victor Seidel, whose daughter married Shelly Gross, co-founder of the Music Fairs; Solomon Brav and Joseph Waldman. These men personified the selflessness with which people went into the healing arts in those days.
Steve Cohen
King of Prussia, Pa.
April 12, 2011
The Barnes endowment
In “The pointless search for Barnes villains” (Editor’s Notebook, April 2010), Dan Rottenberg writes: “Barnes’s original $10 million endowment...seemed huge when he died in 1951.”
That’s because it was in fact huge. Adjusted for inflation, it’s the equivalent today of an $85 million endowment.
Christopher Knight
Los Angeles, Calf.
March 29, 2011
Editor’s note: The writer is art critic for the Los Angeles Times.
Hitchcock’s 39 Steps
Re Jackie Atkins’s review of The 39 Steps at the Walnut Street theater—
What a ridiculous review! A true cop-out of a theater reviewer’s (I can’t even use the word critic) responsibility.
If you’re going to give us the Cliff Notes version of 39 Steps, have the decency and ingenuity of making 39 reasons and not 28!
John N. Andrews
Ann Arbor, Mich.
March 30, 2011
Editor’s note: The writer is a professor of theater at the University of Michigan.
Mark Garvey’s attacks Strunk and White
Re Judy Weightman’s review of Mark Garvey’s Stylized (Nov. 2010)—
First, how can the history behind something of worth be tedious? That’s a mindset problem, not a content one.
Second, all those examples are passive voice by its most basic definition: If the object is getting the attention the subject should be getting or the subject is acting like an object (e.g., ‘”The reason was that his poor health” instead of “His poor health made him”), then it is passive voice.
The use of by is not actually necessary. We get this particular grammatical ism from German, although German lauds it while we seek to destroy it.
It really doesn’t sound like Judy Weightman actually disliked the book that much, or she wouldn’t have paid such close attention to it. But it’s always nicer to have something to complain about.
Miranda Boydstun
Portland, Ore.
March 31, 2011
Judy Weightman replies: Just because the result of a process is worthwhile doesn’t mean that the process itself is interesting. Three of the four examples Strunk and White give of the passive voice aren’t passive, even in some implicit, Germanic form.
The correct defense of Strunk and White on this point is topic drift: They start the section on the passive voice, then segue into a general discussion of bad writing. By conflating three “perfunctory expressions” with one actual example of the passive voice, however, they fail to make it clear that they know what the passive voice is.
If I get annoyed enough, I’m perfectly happy to devote a fair amount of time and attention to analyzing the source of my annoyance. I started out in academia, and old habits can be hard to break.
Good riddance, conceptual art
Re “The ‘death’ of conceptual art,” by Victoria Skelly (January 2010)—
This is good news. It’s very difficult as an art teacher to try to encourage our students to pursue academic success in visual art when the definition of success is conceptual art. While I encourage the students to have a concept and to convey meaning, I also teach the elements and principles of design and expect a high level of technically skilled art while helping them to develop a personal style. As for myself, I have stayed discouraged as well, putting aside my art because it’s subjective and has some degree of realism in it, feeling that it’s not considered suitable in the art world, yet it’s much too unusual for the gift shop/wall art market as well. Thanks for the article!
Stacey Knouff Smith
Cordova, Tenn.
March 31, 2011
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