Tag Archives: Joan Acocella

“[I wish] to trace the gradual action of ordinary causes rather than exceptional.” — George Eliot

“What do I think of Middlemarch? What do I think of glory?” — Emily Dickinson I came to George Eliot late. As in, during the lifespan of this blog. I read Middlemarch (more like devoured it) in 2005, and wrote … Continue reading

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“Ballet taught me to stay close to style and tone. Literature taught me to be concerned about the moral life.” — Joan Acocella

Joan Acocella, longtime dance critic for The New Yorker, and regular contributor to the New York Review of Books died earlier this year at the age of 78, and I did not mark her passing. It’s her birthday today. Acocella … Continue reading

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“Attention equals Life.” — Frank O’Hara

“I am the least difficult of men. All I want is boundless love.” – poet Frank O’Hara It’s his birthday today. First up: I launched my column at Film Comment with a piece about American poet Frank O’Hara’s love of … Continue reading

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Bookshelf Tour #10

An extremely dog-eared section of my library. These books are rarely on the shelf since I dip into them so often. — The mighty Joan Acocella, dance critic for The New Yorker, but also so much more. Her dance writing … Continue reading

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2013 Books Read

It’s been a hell of a year. Devastating as well as redemptive. I started it out in Memphis, and end it here in New Jersey. And now my new niece Pearl has arrived! It’s been both a busy year as … Continue reading

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The Books: Twenty-Eight Artists and Two Saints, ‘Perfectly Frank’, by Joan Acocella

On the essays shelf: Twenty-eight Artists and Two Saints: Essays by Joan Acocella. Unlike a lot of poets, I feel that I know everything I need to know about Frank O’Hara by reading his work. He emerges, there, on the … Continue reading

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The Books: Twenty-Eight Artist and Two Saints, ‘Finding Augie March’, by Joan Acocella

On the essays shelf: Twenty-eight Artists and Two Saints: Essays by Joan Acocella. I have some huge gaps in my reading history – and one of them is mid-late 20th century American authors. I have read Joseph Heller, J.D. Salinger, … Continue reading

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The Books: Twenty-Eight Artists and Two Saints, ‘Feasting on Life’, by Joan Acocella

On the essays shelf: Twenty-eight Artists and Two Saints: Essays by Joan Acocella. I’m not that much of a foodie, and so I am not familiar with M.F.K. Fisher’s food writing, although everything I have heard makes me want to … Continue reading

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The Books: Twenty-Eight Artists and Two Saints, ‘After the Laughs’, by Joan Acocella

On the essays shelf: Twenty-eight Artists and Two Saints: Essays by Joan Acocella. Known for her wit, one-liners, and caustic attitude, Dorothy Parker is one of those rare writers who didn’t write all that much during her lifetime (her last … Continue reading

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The Books: Twenty-Eight Artists and Two Saints, ‘On the Contrary’, by Joan Acocella

On the essays shelf: Twenty-eight Artists and Two Saints: Essays by Joan Acocella. Oh, Mencken. Along with Alexander Hamilton, I have been known to refer to him as “my dead boyfriend”. I have not read all of his stuff (that … Continue reading

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