Arts
The Arts
The Limitations Of ‘Latinidad’: How Colorism Haunts ‘In The Heights’
On the Monday after the release of In the Heights, its creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda posted not a congratulatory note but an apology. Over the weekend, the conversation around colorism and In the Heights reached a fever pitch as more viewers began to wonder why there weren’t any dark-skinned Afro-Latinos in any of the leading roles to represent a place as diverse as Washington Heights.
FILM REVIEW: Dive Into ‘Luca’ And ‘Undine,’ 2 Under-The-Sea Films To Treasure
By curious coincidence, two of the lovelier movies I’ve seen so far this summer — the family-friendly animated fable Luca and the German art-house fairy tale Undine — tell stories about mythic sea creatures making contact with the human world. That’s hardly a new concept, as we’ve seen in films as different as The Shape of Water, Aquaman and countless versions of The Little Mermaid. But as Luca and Undine demonstrate, there are still fresh stories to be dredged up from these watery depths.
‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 15: Chigozie Obioma On Finding Differences And Similarities Between Cultures
In this episode of Traverse Talks with Sueann Ramella, author Chigozie Obioma talks about how his time in Cyprus for school and growing up in Nigeria shaped his work, the types of racism he has experienced in his travels and the meaning behind his name.
BOOK REVIEW: This Family Saga Finds Grace And Beauty In Ordinary Lives, Fully Lived
Read at night, at the end of a too-long day, and characters will enter and exit the rooms of memory, trailing the scent of cigarette smoke and faded perfume. With Simon Van Booy’s new novel, Night Came With Many Stars, open in front of me, I know the smell of summer afternoons and the pattern of paint spattered on a workingman’s boots. I can hear the bugs in the dark and feel the spill of light from a house at the end of a long, dirt drive. Find a book that speaks a language you know and you can drown in it without even realizing.
‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 14: Christine Hemp On Finding Your True North
Author Christine Hemp talks about her latest book, a memoir “Wild Ride Home,” finding red flags in relationships, taking care of aging parents and always keeping your true north. She is an author, poet, musician, speaker and teacher.
‘In The Heights’ Star Anthony Ramos Says The Movie Sees ‘Good In Every Hood’
The first time actor Antony Ramos saw In the Heights, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway production about a Latinx community in New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood, he was floored.
‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 13: Becky Albertalli & Scott Leadingham On Literature Helping Form Identity
In this unique episode of “Traverse Talks with Sueann Ramella,” NWPB’s Scott Leadingham interviews author Becky Albertalli. The two talk about identity, representation of LGBTQIA+ books in school libraries, and how people come out and present themselves to the world.
BOOK REVIEW: ‘House Of Sticks’ Is An Immigrant Success Story With Filial Bonds At The Core
Ly Tran’s memoir House of Sticks brings to mind both the story of The Three Little Pigs and the myth of the unassimilated other in Francois Truffaut’s The Wild Child (L’Enfant Sauvage), in its unsentimental yet deeply moving examination of filial bond, displacement, war trauma, and poverty.
A New Report Shows Museums Had A Bad Year — But Not The Worst Possible
Billy Ocasio feels like one of the country’s luckier museum directors. He runs the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, still standing strong in Chicago after the pandemic wiped out dozens of small museums across the country.
‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 12: Backyard Harvest On The Importance Of Food And Community
In this episode of “Traverse Talks with Sueann Ramella,” Will O’Neal and Renee Love, leaders within the organization Backyard Harvest, share how the group serves its community and how both they and many of their volunteers got a close-up view of food insecurity within local households.
Artist’s Black Wall Street Project Is About Tulsa 100 Years Ago — And Today
Artist Paul Rucker is fearless when it comes to taking on terrible moments in American history. One of them, in Tulsa, Okla., was destroyed by a white mob 100 years ago, on May 31, 1921. The catastrophic attack on what was known as Black Wall Street might be the worst single episode of racial violence in American history, with 35 city blocks of Black community destroyed and flattened.
A Moment Or A Movement? Black Bookstore Owners On Business One Year Later
With the sale of print books rising just over 8% and all unit sales of books surpassing 750 million, Black bookstores would play an integral role in feeding the nation’s “sudden” appetite in the plight of Black people.
