BLANK SPLENDOUR: Caught between Infinity and Finitude
““Never can there be anything more between us,” Lady Grace said passionately to Lord John, as she rebuffed his marriage proposal. “Never, no, never!” Aghast and defeated, he sank after…
PEN Exhibit at Ransom Center
The Ransom Center at the University of Texas here in Austin is currently hosting an exhibit to celebrate PEN. That is short for Poets, Essayists and Novelists, an international organization.…
SCOTTISH MONTH in AUSTIN
Whether by chance or design, November became Scottish month in Austin. First came the Celtic Festival on the first weekend of the month, and this weekend the Austin Symphony Orchestra…
CINDERELLA at Houston Grand Opera
Since its premiere in Rome in 1817, Rossini’s opera Cinderella has been a fan favourite. It’s most recent staging at Houston Grand Opera was a sheer delight. Patrick Summers, artistic…
Manchurian Candidate and the cycle of History
Creators Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell won a Pulitzer Prize for their first opera, Silent Night. This was reviewed in SunNewsAustin in 2019 (see link below). They teamed up again…
Gauguin in Houston
Paul Gauguin (1848 – 1903) is usually referred to as a French painter, but that is deceptive. While born in France, his grandmother was a Peruvian-born Spanish aristocrat. Just one…
Deep Time and Poems of the Highest Antiquity
What is deep time? Author Noah Heringman (Prof of English at the Univ. of Missouri) describes it in setting out the main argument of his book: “the history of deep…
HALLOWEEN BOOK OF THE YEAR: Scottish Witches
Every year I select one book to celebrate Halloween in SunNewsAustin. Lily Seafield wrote Scottish Witches in 2009, but this year it was republished with a new introductory text by…
The Children of Athena
This book on ancient Greek intellectuals is by Charles Freeman. While he lists no academic credentials, he does state some experience on archeological digs surrounding the Mediterranean. The book consists…
Five Gifts from Beethoven
Famed pianist Anton Nel described the 5 piano concertos by Beethoven as gifts to us all, gifts that he is “eternally grateful for.” He displayed the utmost virtuosity here in…