Tasked with writing a story set in the iconic Hundred Acre Wood for the 100th anniversary of Winnie the Pooh, author Brian Sibley sought inspiration in the original works source material. Winnie the Pooh was based off of a toy belonging to the son of the series’ creator AA Milne. Christopher Robbin, also the name of the boy in the stories, was photographed playing with the bear alongside his father, with one curious addition that served as the jumpstart for Sibley’s addition to the series. A toy penguin alongside the original Pooh bear, thought to be purchased at Harrods, the …
Stepping into the New York Public Library’s Rose Main Reading Room is truly a treat for readers, or anybody who enjoys a beautiful place to sit and work. Unfortunately, after a plaster rosette fell off the ceiling in 2014, the Rose Room was closed for repairs. Library goers are in for a treat this Fall. Although originally scheduled for re-opening in 2017, it’s been announced that the room will be re-opening in October. It’s a spectacle, and if you live in the city you owe it to yourself to spend a quiet afternoon reading in this beautiful space.Attracting about 2.5 …
Currently on display at the SVA Curatorial Space is a contemporary art exhibit inspired and informed by Langston Hughes’ famous short story, Coffee Break. In the story, a black man named Simple struggles through a conversation with his white boss, as the man asks what it is that “THE Negro” wants. “I am this Negro” asserts Simple, but the boss’s misinformed curiosity propels the conversation forward to a truth that he was not ready for. ‘Negroes are the ones who want to be integrated,’ said my boss. ‘And white folks are the ones who do not want to be,’ I …
Famed author of We Have to Talk About Kevin, Lionel Shriver, has faced a lot of criticism in the wake of her controversial statements regarding cultural appropriation. As a keynote speaker during the Brisbane Writer’s Festival, Shriver attacked the idea of cultural appropriation as a limitation on the arts. She defended, for instance, the English author, Chris Cleave’s, decision to write from the perspective of a Nigerian girl in his best selling Little Bee. Ultimately, Shriver’s speech was in defense of the rights of artists to depict characters from minority groups if it worked to advance the artistic purpose. “Otherwise all …
Before the conquest that would have his name etched in the annals of history, Napoleon was a young soldier in love. A young soldier in love inspired to take up the pen. Now, centuries later, the manuscript of what that love bore, a 22- page novella, has turned up at an auction in New York. A semi-autobiographical romance tale, collected from a smattering of stained manuscripts, the work is set to fetch a cool quarter mil once sold. Written in 1795, as Napoleon was in the midst of rising the ranks within the French military, Clisson et Eugénie follows a …
