Consciousness Amid Crisis: Elaquent’s ‘Forever is a Pretty Long Time’ and the Superiority of the Arts in Our Lives

Consciousness Amid Crisis

Our longest days are barely over. What feels like a sci-fi feature set in a distant, dystopian future is the current reality for millions of…

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Carmen, an Essay

Carmen, an Essay

In Carmen even the swishes of the trousers seem orchestrated.  No part of the performance is relegated indecorous or immodest.  Even the most subterranean components…

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Preservation Hall: At the Feet of My Voice

Preservation Hall

A long weekend in New Orleans immersed me in a world populated by exceptional music at every turn, except, perhaps in the hotel restaurant. Jazz,…

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Living with Jazz

Living with Jazz

I was painfully aware of my lack of a jazzer’s ear the year I spent playing tenor saxophone in my high school jazz band. I…

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Teaching the Harlem Renaissance

Teaching the Harlem Renaissance

I Skyped with four eighth graders seated in someone’s living room while someone’s grandma puttered around in the background, obviously eavesdropping on our chat about…

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King and Queen of the Weekend: The Glorious Revisionism of Lorde’s Melodrama

King and Queen of the Weekend: The Glorious Revisionism of Lorde’s Melodrama

In 2013, Pure Heroine burst into pop culture with a precocious “Royals” that was more acutely aware of the limitations of adolescence and the humility…

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