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Does Anyone Care About F. R. Leavis? [by David Lehman]
I recently reread F. R. Leavis's New Bearings in English Poetry (1932), one of the most influential books of literary criticism in the twentieth century. What impressed me on this reading — my first…
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The Complete Works of Frank Zappa — an American composer (1940-1993) (Part 4) [by Lewis R. Saul]
RELEASES #41-53 (1984-1988) 41. Thing-Fish (3LP, Barking Pumpkin SKCO-74201, November 21, 1984) It will soon be 30 years. When this three-album box-set was released, many Zappa fans were severely disappointed. Many old tracks were…
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Albert York, “Woman and Skeleton” (c. 1967) [by David Lehman]
I love this painting by Albert York, the famously reclusive painter, said (by Calvin Tompkins) to be " "the most highly admired unknown artist in America." York, who died in 2004 at the age…
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Bach’s Goldberg Variationzzzzzzzzzzzz (by Stacey Harwood)
Of Jerome Robbins's 90-minute ballet to J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations, New York Times dance critic Clive Barnes wrote: Jerome Robbins's new ballet, seen for the first time in its final version at the New…
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The Complete Works of Frank Zappa — an American composer (1940-1993) (Part 3) [by Lewis R. Saul]
RELEASES #28-40 (1979-1984) 28. Joe's Garage Act I (LP, Zappa SRZ-1-1603, September 3, 1979)29. Joe's Garage Acts II & III (2LP, Zappa SRZ-2-1502, November 19, 1979) Originally, three discs covering two separate releases. The…
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Billy Collins Pinch Hits for Garrison Keillor, and See What Happens
Billy Collins, guest editor of The Best American Poetry 2006, will be filling in as guest host of The Writer's Almanac from June through August. Garrison Keillor, the regular host, is devoting the summer…
