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The Arts Fuse

@theartsfuse.bsky.social

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Boston's Premier Online Arts Magazine

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The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 17h

We have gob smacking news and a wonderful opportunity to share.
The Arts Fuse recently received a transformational gift of $25,000 from an anonymous donor who shares our belief that culture matters.

Want to help sustain this scrappy magazine? Click below

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Donations - Please Help Keep the Arts Fuse Lit - The Arts Fuse

The Arts Fuse serves as the next generation platform for thousands of arts and culture consumers across Greater Boston and beyond. The magazine now draws

The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 22h

The Arts Fuse newsletter is out and about. My editorial asks "Is Massachusetts doing anything to protect independent voices in an increasingly hostile landscape for writers and readers?" Any surprise that the state is spinning its wheels?

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The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 22h

Trevor Fairbrother reviews "Queer Enlightenments: A Hidden History of Lovers, Lawbreakers, and Homemakers" This lively foray into popular history exemplifies the move to attract younger audiences with open and freewheeling interests in gender and sexual nonconformity.

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The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 1d

If, as a commemorative volume, "Fifty Poems" invites readers to sample the German poet #rainermariarilke more extensively, either in the original or in the range of translations currently available, it will have accomplished a valuable task. @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social

artsfuse.org/317870/book-...

Book Review: "Fifty Poems" - An Offering on the Altar of Rainer Maria Rilke - The Arts Fuse

If, as a commemorative volume, "Fifty Poems" introduces readers to sample the German poet more extensively, either in the original or in the range of translations currently available, it will have acc...

The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 1d

Each month, our arts critics — music, book, theater, dance, television, film, and visual arts — fire off a few brief reviews. Short reviews for October include short bursts from Ralph Locke, Steven Erickson, Peter Walsh, Allen Michie, and me.

artsfuse.org/317673/octob...

October Short Fuses — Materia Critica - The Arts Fuse

Each month, our arts critics — music, book, theater, dance, television, film, and visual arts — fire off a few brief reviews.

The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 2d

In his one-person show "Sardines" at The Huntington Theatre, writes Bob Israel, Chris Grace invites us to think about mortality with him, to learn something from his stories, and to share a few heartwarming laughs along the way.
artsfuse.org/317978/theat...

Theater Review: “Sardines” - A One-Man Journey Through Death, Memory, and Grace - The Arts Fuse

Chris Grace invites us to think about mortality with him, to learn something from his stories, and to share a few heartwarming laughs along the way.

The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 2d

Ed Meek on Wim Carton and #andreasmalm's "The Long Heat" @versobooks.bsky.social and other books on the Climate Crisis: How bad is the future going to be? Depends on who you read.

artsfuse.org/317838/book-...

Book Reviews: Four Books on the Climate Crisis - Is it Really the End of the World? - The Arts Fuse

How bad is the future going to be? Depends on who you read.

The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 3d

Helen Epstein on #ArundhatiRoy's memoir "Mother Mary Sings to Me": This account of a formidable mother and equally formidable daughter is an absorbing read that packed the memoir form to the gills and demanded my attention. @scribnerbooks.bsky.social

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Book Review: India through a Daughter’s Eyes: The Turbulent Journey of “Mother Mary Comes to Me” - The Arts Fuse

This account of a formidable mother and equally formidable daughter is an absorbing read that packed the memoir form to the gills and demanded my attention.

The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 3d

At a time when the world’s aflame, writes Paul Robicheau #davidbyrne's show at the Boch Center Wang Theater ignited creative camaraderie and delivered a dazzling experience that lingers in mind and spirit.

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The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 5d

Erica Abeel is suspicious of the murky political messaging in #LucaGuadagnino's "After the Hunt": the film churns up issues that feel several years behind the curve (hello 2007 and #HarveyWeinstein).

artsfuse.org/317779/film-...

Film Review: Dispatch From the New York Festival - "After the Hunt" - The Arts Fuse

"After the Hunt" churns up issues that feel several years behind the curve (hello 2007 and Harvey Weinstein).

The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 5d

#thenewyorkfilmfestival's “Revivals” series showcases new restorations, writes @callinamagician.bsky.social, so the expectation is that these movies, including art films from around the world, will become more widely available. He reviews four of this year's entries.

artsfuse.org/317811/film-...

Film Festival Reviews: New York Film Festival's 2025 “Revivals” - The Arts Fuse

Because NYFF's “Revivals” supplement showcases new restorations, the expectation is that these movies, including art films from around the world, should become more widely available down the road.

The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 6d

Cyrisse Jaffee on two new non-fiction books -- "Fight for the Right to Read" and "The Ultimate Book of the Human Body" -- that offer important information for young readers. @crestonbooks.bsky.social

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The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 6d

Tim Jackson on @bowedtie.bsky.social's #TheSmashingMachine: This is far from a conventional sports drama: it is a study of a man’s struggle to find a sense of personal worth and relevance.

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The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 6d

The Arts Fuse poem of the week: Jim Dunn's "The Ballad of Bailability"

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Weekly Feature: Poetry at The Arts Fuse - The Arts Fuse

This week's poem: Jim Dunn's "The Ballad of Bailability"

The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 7d

Kai Maristed on Laura Vazquez's #theendlessweek (@dorothyproject.bsky.social): the novel is a brave, uneven, at times brilliant swathe of prose. Experimental? For certain. Perhaps the only way to write an Internet novel is by looking from the inside out.

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The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 7d

John Tamilio on #junctiontrio performing the music of #johnzorn at the #IsabellaStewartGardnerMuseum: this was the coolest show in town — an afternoon of experimental music that highlighted their virtuosity as individual players and as a unit.

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Concert Review: Junction Trio Journeys Through the Demanding Sonic Terrain of John Zorn - The Arts Fuse

The Junction Trio offered the coolest show in town — an afternoon of experimental music that highlighted their virtuosity as individual players and as a unit.

The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 7d

The newsletter is out and about. My editorial points out that America’s arts and culture establishment has decided to bow to Trump.
artsfuse.substack.com/p/the-arts-f...

The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 8d

Biographer Jennifer Ann Redmond’s sympathetic approach to Diana Barrymore’s disastrous life is valuable, writes Tom Connolly, because it rejects the poor-little-rich-girl tropes. She was more than a debauched debutante or fallen starlet.

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The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 8d

Jonathan Bonfiglio on "Paradise/Mash-Up: Andrae Green" at the Boston Center for the Arts. For Jamaican-born visual artist @andraegreen.bsky.social, where land and sea meet is not a line, but an immersion.

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The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 8d

Peter Walsh on "Matisse at War: Art and Resistance in Nazi Occupied France" (@penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social). All in all, this is a crisp, entertaining, and, so far as I can see, an accurate account of the last acts in #henrimatisse’s career.

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Book Review: "Matisse at War" - The Makings of a Spy Thriller - The Arts Fuse

All in all, this is a crisp, entertaining, and, so far as I can see, an accurate account of the last acts in Henri Matisse’s career.

The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 10d

Jonathan Blumhofer reviews a disc from the Estonian Festival Orchestra and conductor #paavojärvi that celebrates the 90th birthday of Estonian composer Arvo Pärt. On Alpha Classics

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Classical Music Album Review: Estonian Festival Orchestra and Paavo Järvi Celebrate the Music of Arvo Pärt - The Arts Fuse

Arvo Pärt’s ubiquity in concert halls and on disc for much of the last fifty years suggests that he’s got plenty to say to our cultural and historic moment.

The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 10d

Martin Copenhaver on the drama "The Hills of California" at @thehuntington.bsky.social: This script about a dysfunctional family eventually packs a wallop, but it drags its feet at the start.

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Theater Review: "The Hills of California" - The Power of Family Matters - The Arts Fuse

The play eventually packs a wallop, but it drags its feet at the start.

The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 10d

Scott McLennan on hearing #ZiggyMarley and #BurningSpear: The cross generational #DotheReggaeTour suggested that the music's creative trek was far from over.

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The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 11d

David D'Arcy at #TiFF50 A trio of intriguing political films, ranging from tragedy to farce, one featuring Vladimir Putin as a character.

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Toronto International Film Festival – Putin's Media Fixer, Ukraine “Future” Doldrums and a Korean Hijack Farce - The Arts Fuse

A trio of political films at TIFF -- ranging from tragedy to farce.

The Arts Fuse @theartsfuse.bsky.social · 11d

Across his career, British conductor #MartynBrabbins has used his bully pulpit to bring to light all sorts of deserving, unfamiliar repertoire, including the music of #havergalbrian. Jonathan Blumhofer reviews Brian's opera "Agamemnon" on Hyperion Records

artsfuse.org/317451/class...

Classical Music Album Review: Composer Havergal Brian - A Less Than Robust Musical Harvest - The Arts Fuse

Across his career, British conductor Martyn Brabbins has used his bully pulpit to bring to light all sorts of deserving, unfamiliar repertoire, including the music of compatriot Havergal Brian.