Caryn and I watched an old movie on cable TV recently that left us traumatized for days. Ironically, the movie was trying to be a light-hearted and whimsical children’s musical. It was written by Dr. Seuss in 1953. The movie left us traumatized because it was so very, very bad.… Read the rest
The news that the remains of England’s King Richard III have been positively identified in a car park in Leicester is a big deal for historians. It’s an even bigger deal for Shakespeareans.
A great Shakespeare character has been found! Richard III was one of the playwright’s most infamous villains, … Read the rest
I considered going dark today to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (along with Boing Boing, Reddit and Wikipedia), but I decided not to for two reasons. First, I don’t think little sites like Litkicks will make much impact at all by going dark. You’ve got to be … Read the rest
“Literary Kicks,” says the guy where I pick up my mail, looking at my address on a package. “What is it, sneakers?”
“Books,” I say to him. “Books. I’d probably make a lot more money if it was sneakers.”
With that said, here are the latest literary links, for your … Read the rest
… Read the restCHEREA: He was too fond of bad poetry.
LUCIUS: That’s typical …
CHEREA: Of his age, perhaps, but not of his rank. An emperor with artistic and intellectual inclinations is a contradiction in terms.
LUCIUS: We’ve had one or two, of course. But there’s misfits in every family. The others
I often hear people complain about “dirty hippies”. Well, cleanliness is a virtue. But I’ve never understood why anybody would hate hippies. Is it that their exuberance is embarrassing? I like hippies, and I also like several writers identified with the post-Beat/hippie literary tradition of the 1960s and 1970s, many … Read the rest
Alchemy, schizophrenia, witchcraft, and religious fanaticism, all leavened with a knowing wink of humor, Inferno
When life gets dreary, there’s always Gilbert and Sullivan. This British duo’s creative track record is almost as impressive as that of the Beatles, who took over the world in similar fashion three-quarters of a century later. They left us three wildly popular masterpieces: HMS Pinafore, The Pirates of … Read the rest
A link on Terry Teachout’s blog to a super-rare full-length kinescope recording of The Fantasticks from 1964 brought back lots of memories for me, and not just ancient ones, because I’ve seen this great Off-Broadway musical at least eight times, most recently only a few years ago with my kids. … Read the rest
