weekend links: Chris Jackson, Zona Maco, Mi Casa Es Su Teatro
Jill Magdid,
Barragan®
(2016).
Image courtesy of The Creators Project.
Chris Jackson, executive editor of the Random House imprint Spiegel & Grau, is not Ta-Nehisi Coates—despite what old white women at the 2015 Texas Book Festival may have thought. But he is Coates’s editor, and one of the only black editors in the publishing industry. Vinson Cunningham’s profile on Jackson is a terrific read, and its last few paragraphs are breathtaking. [New York Times Magazine] I am a huge fan of uncomfortable comedy (the British Office, The Comeback, Enlightened, e.g.), but this article about “’self-loathing lit-fic” book trailers made me cringe so much that I have yet to watch a single one of the videos linked or embedded. Have fun! [Slate]
Happy 20th birthday to Infinite Jest. Let’s revisit this 2009 essay on David Foster Wallace’s struggle to follow up the improbably popular behemoth of a novel. Or, if that’s not your thing, you could read these excerpts from one-star Amazon reviews. [New Yorker]
Artists Eva and Franco Mattes are tackling the Internet, free speech, and surveillance in a thoroughly unsettling video series that features the stories of web content moderators. You can watch a few at the link, but to view the whole series you will have to venture on to the darknet. [Hyperallergic]
Mexico City is in the midst of its huge art fair, Zona Maco. If you’re bummed you can’t be there, you can at least check out this roundup of DF-based artists and works. [The Creators Project]
FronteraFest has been happening these past few weeks, and hopefully you've been able to check out some of the cutting edge "fringe" productions being put on by Hyde Park Theatre. And, as part of FronteraFest, Mi Casa Es Su Teatro is happening tomorrow, bringing theater, readings, and other performances into select homes, for a more intimate viewing experience. Poet Tyler Gobble, whose work is featured in issue 5 and who will be reading at our release party next Friday, curated this year's event, alongside Diana Small. There are a few different locations and performances, so hopefully you can catch at least one. They're a real treat. [Austin Chronicle]
And speaking of festivals, Austin’s Fusebox Festival just released its 2016 lineup, which will feature more than 60 acts over just five days—compared to its usual 12—this April. The star-studded schedule includes composer Mark Mothersbaugh, London’s Royal Court Theatre, and NYC’s Big Dance Theater, as well as locals Yuliya Lanina, Steve Parker, and Rude Mechs. And so much more! [Austin Chronicle]
Musician and writer Nat Baldwin (Dirty Projectors) is our truest American hipster: he felt the Bern before it was even cool. [American Short Fiction]
—Alyssa G. Ramirez