When you think of Shakespeare’s plays, you probably think of the Globe Theatre. Yet for more than twenty years before the Globe was opened, the Curtain Theatre was the first home to such plays as Romeo and Juliet and Henry V. Unfortunately the place was closed and disassembled in the 17th century, and the location was presumed lost. Fast forward 400 years, however, and a team of East London excavators have finally uncovered a few of its sections.
Unearthing the Curtain
You Are the Best People
“I am sitting at the open window (at four a.m.) and breathing the lovely air of a spring morning. Life is still good, and it is worth living on a May morning - I assert that life is beautiful in spite of everything! … In a word, there are many thorns, but the roses are there too.” These excerpts from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s letters are just gorgeous.
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Become Louder, Even Still
Recommended Reading: Apogee Journal has collected fourteen responses from writers to sexual violence perpetrated in the literary community.
The Spy Who Wrote a Memoir
The Guardian has a beautiful multimedia feature in celebration of John le Carré's new memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel, including an exclusive excerpt, original notes from the author's archives, and readings of his novels by Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston, Damien Lewis et al. Read also: our own Emily St. John Mandel on using le Carré for literary cover.
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A Proper Sociopath
Last week, I pointed readers to a recording of Benedict Cumberbatch on BBC Radio, reading Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Over at Slate, Rebecca Schuman explains why Cumberbatch is the story’s ideal reader, unpacking his “withering, perfectly enunciated deadpan.”
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The Working World
The media world is abuzz about a former Harper's Bazaar intern suing parent company Hearst for allegedly violating labor laws for not paying her (With reactions ranging from "She'll never work in this town again." to "Good for her. It's about time!"). At least she didn't get sucked into HuffPo's aggregation turbine.