You may have heard that the pioneering jazz musician Ornette Coleman died last week at the age of eighty-five. As a composer, he was known for his odd melodies, which reliably tested the boundaries of what jazz could accomplish. At The Paris Review Daily, two musicians and writers look back on his legacy.
The Oddity
You Mother
Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and there’s no better way to prepare yourself than by taking a look at this list of ten fictional mothers who will have you thanking God for yours. From Emma Bovary of Flaubert’s Madame Bovary to Mrs. Lisbon of The Virgin Suicides, these mothers will remind you that it could always be worse.
The Year of the e-Single
Some say 2012 was “the year of the e-single,” and Laura Hazard Owen is here to explain why. While on the topic, you might want to check out Epic Fail, which was our debut into the world of e-singles. Author Mark O’Connell recently sat down with Hazlitt to discuss the book – as well as Guy Fieri.
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“The heat of autumn / is different from the heat of summer.”
With the help of Flora Coker, the Poetry Foundation created an animated reading of Jane Hirshfield’s “The Heat of Autumn.”
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“Notre Dame is a polarizing place.”
With apologies to Mary McCarthy, our own Bill Morris has revisited memories of his sports-crazed Catholic boyhood in Sunday’s New York Times — specifically why he has been a life-long hater of Notre Dame football.
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“I have always wondered.”
John Jeremiah Sullivan’s “Diary” for the Financial Times features the Mars Curiosity, Quaker school songs, and all sorts of family bonding.
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From Isolation to Affluence
“It’s likely Lucia would have felt more comfortable watching a bull be gored in a Mexico City arena or huddling among winos on a corner in Oakland than she ever felt at her first place on posh Mapleton Hill.” Elizabeth Geoghegan for The Paris Review on Lucia Berlin, whose A Manual For Cleaning Women is out now.
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Hinchas Nuevos
Hinchas de Poesía, which is “a digital codex of contemporary Pan-American writing,” has just released their 11th issue, and it’s certainly worth checking out.