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Review of Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass by Lana Del Rey Review by Michael Quinn Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass, a collection of poems by the popular singer Lana Del Rey, wears its Beat-poet influences proudly. It reads like an unedited love letter to and from California, a place of “1,000 fires” and “scorched earth.” The small, hardcover […]
Uffizi’s Gallery in Florence is the most important museum in Italy and the 10th most visited museum globally, as it hosts the world’s finest Italian Renaissance art collection, which attracted over four million visitors in 2019. Amidst its greatest masterpieces, Uffizi exhibits The Birth of Venus (Botticelli, 1484-1486), Doni Tondo (Michelangelo, 1507), Annunciation (Leonardo, 1472-1475) and the biggest collection of […]
35mm color film photographs by Piotr Pillardy (Developed & scanned at Exposure Therapy in Brooklyn) Just a short drive or train ride from the city is Storm King Art Center (more often solely referred to as Storm King, named after the nearby mountain). Set in an idyllic landscape, this art center acts as the perfect and prescient solution to our […]
Progress sounds like a lot of things. The chugging of bulldozers excavating the earth. A ladle scraping new brownstone onto a rebuilt stoop. Construction guys a hundred feet up shouting commands to guide a steel girder into place. A crew of laborers laughing as they haul old dirt and timber from a gut renovation. In Gowanus, it’s EPA boats puttering […]
Review of The Meaning of Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey with Michaela Angela Davis Review by Michael Quinn The misleading title of Mariah Carey’s new memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey (written with Michaela Angela Davis), suggests an interpretation of the singer-songwriter’s public persona. After all, Carey’s had nineteen number-one hits—more than any other solo artist in history. What does […]
Review of The Street by Ann Petry Review by Michael Quinn Even successful books, continuously in print for generations, eventually fade into the background. New editions, repackaged with fresh cover art and introductions by contemporary authors, give us reason to see them with fresh eyes. Such is the case with The Street, Ann Petry’s critically-acclaimed 1946 novel (with an insightful […]
Usually people thinking about Ancient Egypt (3150-50 BC) imagine wide deserts in Africa with giant pyramids and sphinxes, gods and mummies near the Nile, but there’s a big piece of Egypt in the city from where I write monthly for the Star-Revue, namely Turin, which is in the northwest portion of Italy. Here, 2000 miles away from Egypt, there’s a […]
Review of The Street by Ann Petry Review by Michael Quinn Even successful books, continuously in print for generations, eventually fade into the background. New editions, repackaged with fresh cover art and introductions by contemporary authors, give us reason to see them with fresh eyes. Such is the case with The Street, Ann Petry’s critically-acclaimed 1946 novel (with an insightful […]
The Origins of Lovecraft Country Lovecraft Country is one of HBO’s newest series based on author Matt Ruff’s 2016 best-selling novel, Lovecraft Country. Both the series and novel reference the work of another famous author, HP Lovecraft (Howard Phillips Lovecraft) whose earlier works made use of themes that dehumanized people of color. However, the HBO series created by Horror […]
Tired of Netflix and chill? Miss going to the movies? Maybe you just need a change of scenery? Well, good news. After more than 50 years, the New York Film Festival is finally coming to the boroughs. But you’ll need to gas up your wheels, book your Zipcar, or lock down a rental to attend. The 58th NYFF runs September […]