weekend links: Black History Month, Dana Tai Soon Burgess, DJs in revolt
A performance of Dana Tai Soon Burgess's Island. Photography by Mary Noble Ours. Image courtesy Guernica.
Released on the first day of Black History Month, Beyoncé mesmerized us with a pregnancy photo this week and the announcement that she’ll be having twins. Read about the artist and poet behind the immediately iconic photo and how it captures that “aesthetic aha” of familiarity and novelty. [The Atlantic]
Also just in time for Black History Month comes the release of the James Baldwin documentary I Am Not Your Negro. Mandatory viewing. Catch a preview here. [Time]
Greenland is not known for its cultural exports, so Niviaq Korneliussen’s rise to fame has been a pleasurable surprise. The literary star talks about her American literary influences, growing up queer in Greenland, her Danish readership and her modest stardom on the island, where bestsellers only move a thousand copies. [The New Yorker]
Dana Tai Soon Burgess is one of few Asian-American choreographers who’ve received wide acclaim. Here, he talks about creating dances about the Asian-American experience, drawing inspiration from invertebrates, the misconception of a "lucky diversity card", and more. [Guernica]
Here is an update on how writers and publishers are responding to the immigration ban, including a list of authors and publishers boycotting the U.S. and a few wise words from Colson Whitehead. [Electric Literature]
The history of literature is riddled with the frustrations of young men coming to terms with a world that fails to live up to their ideals. Pankaj Mishra’s Age of Anger examines these characters and looks at the cultural and political theories that have spawned and inspired them. [New Republic]
The Super Bowl is probably the last place you’d expect to find Margaret Atwood, but commercials for the new Atwood-inspired television series The Handmaid’s Tale will be airing during the big game. Keep an eye out. [Hollywood Reporter]
Electronic music may seem largely apolitical, but in Turkey and Iran, DJs and artists are defying censorship and authoritarian decrees in efforts to keep underground youth culture alive. We would be wise to take notes.
And in light of unconstitutional immigration orders that have been recently been decreed, it's been heartening to see the number of artists and businesses offering proceeds of sales to the ACLU. Bandcamp is offering 100% of its sales today to the ACLU, and coffee shops all over the country are helping out this weekend. Purchase a subscription to fieldsbetween now and Sunday and we’ll do the same.
—Katie Lauren Bruton and Sean Redmond