Rox our world: Roxane Gay can write with both authenticity and wit about Italian restaurants, feminism, body image, racism, rape culture, gun control, and other cultural hot buttons. She’s become internationally recognized for her to-the-point social criticism, and in 2019 Playboy called her one of the most important and accessible cultural commentators of our time. That same year, she made speaking appearances around the world and published a comic series about three generations of black women who are master thieves in Chicago.
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Poetic unity
Rita Dove was on sabbatical from the University of Virginia English department when Richard Danielpour emailed the U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner. The Grammy Award-winning composer wanted to discuss collaborating on A Standing Witness, a cycle of songs that covers 50 years of American history, with original music set to poems as lyrics. […]
Taking flight
Originating from a 1765 commedia dell’arte by Carlo Gozzi, The Green Bird gets a modern staging that is “40 percent improvised,” says Director Dave Dalton of UVA Drama’s update. Gozzi’s version had serious undertones that were meant to expose what he considered dangerous ideas of Enlightenment thinkers. At UVA, the play is a hilarious ride […]
Keeping it short
Three days of screenings, competitions, and talks take place across Charlottesville as filmmakers from around the globe present their work at the Indie Short Film Festival. The fest grew out of the Indie Short Film Series, established locally by writer, director, and event marketing guru Ty Cooper in 2019. After touring to other markets, Cooper […]