Community initiatives bring new gathering places to D.C.'s Trinidad
When Josh Kramer moved to the Trinidad neighborhood of Northeast Washington in 2018, he began a practice that would gain him a measure of local celebrity: attending the Advisory Neighborhood Commission meetings for his district and taking notes in the form of cartoon sketches that he would later post online.
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Fox News
5 hours ago
- Fox News
DAVID MARCUS: Dems' Kennedy Center gay ‘Guerrilla Theater' stunt is why their act wears thin
I'm sorry to report that the theater kids in the Democrat Party are at it again, this time quite literally and in Washington's jewel of the performing arts, the Kennedy Center. On Monday night, Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., put on the "Love is Love" concert co-hosted by Democrat Sens. Tammy Baldwin , of Wisconsin; Jacky Rosen, of Nevada; Brian Schatz, of Hawaii; and Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, as an affair to protest what they claim is anti-LGBT bias at the arts center. The show, featuring Broadway stars and a gay men's chorus in the 144-seat Justice Forum was invitation only, and no, you were not invited. It turns out Hickenlooper had reached out to Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller, to co-produce the show, the same Seller behind the hit musical "Hamilton," and who recently canceled a production at the Kennedy Center, along with the show's creator Lin Manuel-Miranda, also in protest against alleged anti-gay bias. The senators used a little-known provision that allows them to rent space at the Kennedy Center as a perk of the job. Who knew? Setting aside the fact that the merits of the claim that the Kennedy Center has somehow become anti-gay fall somewhere between wet tissue paper flimsy and non-existent, the form of this protest by powerful Democrats warrants some scrutiny, and can tell us a lot. According to The New York Times, Hickenlooper reached out to Seller and asked if he wanted to make some "guerrilla theater," which, for anyone who knows anything about theater, is absolutely hilarious. Guerrilla theater, often associated with the Living Theater founded in 1947, is when a company just takes over a space and starts putting on a show. In the 1980s, they used to have stage lights they could plug into municipal light poles, for example. What guerrilla theater is definitively and unquestionably not, is 5 of the most powerful human beings on earth asking a super-rich Broadway producer to put on a concert in one of the most venerated performance spaces in America that they can rent by Congressional prerogative. That is, in fact, the perfect polar opposite of guerrilla theater. This confusion by Hickenlooper and Seller is an incredibly illuminating window into the current mindset of the far-left elites in the Democrat Party and their cultural wingmen. They think they are being raw and edgy, when actually, they just look ridiculous. We see this performative nonsense everywhere from Democrats, whether in Corey Booker's farcical filibuster, Rep. Eric Swalwell's cringeworthy TikTok skits, or elected officials getting themselves arrested on purpose for eager cameras. They think all of these things, like their "guerilla theater," are provocative and brave, a counter-culture that stands up to Trump and all his alleged crimes. What these prancing Democrats fail to understand is just how inauthentic their antics are to the everyday Americans who can see through them like Superman checking what's in the fridge without opening the door. Democrats and their advisers have lost sight of the difference between symbolism and reality, Booker wasn't filibustering any real bill, members of Congress aren't really being arrested in any meaningful way, and 5 senators sure as hell did not really "occupy" the Kennedy Center. Everybody knows it's all for show, because they have seen the show before. Hickenlooper and Seller thought they were speaking their truth to the power of Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell, a gay man who they absurdly accuse of anti-gay bias because he wants the institution he leads to focus on artistic excellence instead of identity grievance. In fact, it is Grennell and the new board of directors at the Kennedy Center who are pushing back against decades of hegemonic left-wing power in arts and culture, and at the slightest threat to its power, the political and artistic left has thrown a hissy fit. Americans don't need guerrilla theater from our elected officials, especially those who have no idea what guerrilla theater actually is. Democrats need to wake up to the fact that just doing one more performative stunt isn't going to convince Americans they are living in a fascist dictatorship and should come running back to their party. While Republicans are tackling the budget and the border, the Democrats are making sure that gay people aren't underrepresented in theater, which is like making sure that guys named "Cheech" aren't underrepresented in the mafia. The American people have no idea who leads the Democrats, what they stand for, or what policies they would enact, it is my job to know these things and I don't even know, because they won't tell us. For now at least, the theater kids are gonna be theater kids, so keep your Playbills handy, you never know what mind numbingly awful show these Democrats may put on next.
Forbes
6 hours ago
- Forbes
30 Essential Coming-Of-Age Stories For Every Reader
Author Sandra Cisneros, who penned standout coming-of-age novel "The House on Mango Street," speaks ... More at the 2024 National Book Festival at The Walter E. Washington Convention Center on August 24, 2024. Coming of age stories have a universal draw—everyone grows up, and everyone has experienced defining moments in life that help them build their character. Coming of age books crystallize a pivotal moment in someone's life and detail the before, during and after moments that determine where they go in the future. The greatest coming of age books show readers both the paths taken and not taken, illustrating how life can change with the smallest decision. Above all, coming of age fiction should be relatable, something that people from different backgrounds can understand. This list of best coming of age books includes selections going back more than two centuries, underscoring just how little changes in human nature. Top Coming-Of-Age Novels Coming of age in literature usually covers events in the lives of people from about age 10 to 30. They must be young enough to have limited life experience. This list includes fantasy, literary fiction, young adult (YA) novels, novels in verse and a number of classics. The rankings are based on the books' critical acclaim, sales, literary prizes and their continued relevance years after publication. This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel follows a teenage boy who lives through an accident that kills his mother. Theo moves in with a wealthy friend's family after his dad abandons him, and he struggles to navigate his new life. The consequences of that stick with him as he ages. This book is best for anyone who wants to read a prestige novel that's also a page-turner. Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch is available from publisher Little, Brown & Co. Named to Time's list of Best YA Books of All Time, When Dimple Met Rishi is a classic romcom. Hopeless romantic Rishi readies to woo the more cynical Dimple after their families arrange for them to marry. What they realize along the way to falling in love helps them better understand the world. This book is best for romcom fans. Sandhya Menon's When Dimple Met Rishi is available from publisher Simon & Schuster. Trans boy Yadriel feels frustrated that his traditional Latinx family can't seem to acknowledge his gender identity in this National Book Award finalist. When he—oops!—conjures a ghost from a nearby cemetery, he begins to realize he's not the only one with problems. And he may also be in love with a specter. This book is best for fans of magical realism. Aiden Thomas's Cemetery Boys is available from Macmillan. This children's classic follows Mary Lennon, who is shipped from India to England after becoming orphaned. In her new house, Mary discovers a secret garden where she can escape her new dull life. But, with a dash of magic, she also learns responsibility and how to deal with her tragic loss. This book is best for younger readers or fans of classics. Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden is available from publisher Penguin Random House. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie shows why she is considered one of Nigeria's best writers with this story of privileged siblings who are sent to live with their aunt following a military coup. Just as they've adjusted to this less-formal, more fun life, they must return home—and confront their tyrannical father. This book is best for anyone who savors gorgeous writing. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus is available from publisher Hachette. In this novel-in-verse, 11-year-old Kofi lives a carefree life in his African village. His world turns upside down after he is kidnapped by 'the beasts,' brutal enslavers who rip Kofi from a blissful existence where his biggest problem was impressing his crush. Suddenly, he's fighting to survive. This book is best for history buffs or poetry fans. Kwame Alexander's The Door of No Return is available from publisher Hachette. Author Kwame Alexander wrote The Door of No Return, one of the best coming of age novels, great for ... More historical fiction fans. Qiu Miaojin sets this queer coming-of-age tale in late 1980s Taipei, just after martial law ends. A group of college friends navigate new relationships, including the lesbian narrator's attraction to an older woman. The story is told through diaries, notes and other primary sources. This book is best for anyone who enjoys nontraditional storytelling or wants a queer take on coming of age. Qiu Miaojin's Notes of a Crocodile is available from publisher NYRB. Beloved YA author John Green's semiautobiographical novel draws on his time in boarding school as young Miles loses a close friend and copes with the aftermath of his death. It earned the Michael L. Printz Award for best book for teens and has also been banned in many school districts for profanity. This book is best for anyone searching for books on grief. John Green's Looking for Alaska is available from publisher Penguin Random House. One of several classics on this list, Anne of Green Gables introduces headstrong ginger-haired Anne, who turns Avonlea on Prince Edward Island upside down following her mistaken assignment to a pair of siblings hoping to adopt a boy. It has sold more than 50 million copies and inspired a book series. This book is best for anyone looking for a younger protagonist (Anne is 11 at the start of the book). Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables is available from publisher Penguin Random House. Standout author Nicola Yoon's devastating debut novel, a New York Times bestseller, chronicles a first love like none other. Eighteen-year-old Maddy is allergic to everything and never leaves her house. She falls in love with new neighbor Olly, who expands her world in exciting, necessary and ultimately tragic ways. This book is best for those who enjoy romance novels. Nicola Yoon's Everything, Everything is available from publisher Penguin Random House. The middle book in the Harry Potter series sees Harry truly come of age, as he experiences romance, friendship crises and a friend's death for the first time. This marks a transition from the adventure of the early books to the angst of the teen years, and it remains incredibly popular 25 years after publication. This book is best for anyone who likes fantasy books. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is available from publisher Scholastic. Actors, Rupert Grint, Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson on the set of the film "Harry Potter and The ... More Goblet of Fire," one of the best coming of age stories. In her debut novel, Jean Kwok follows mother-daughter Chinese immigrants, the younger of whom feels caught between cultures. Kimberly Chang spends days as an overachieving student and nights working in a sweatshop, trying to help her family get a leg up. But whose goals should she prioritize? This book is best for anyone looking for a nuanced take on immigration. Jean Kwok's Girl in Translation is available from publisher Penguin Random House. Julia Alvarez's beautiful tale of four sisters from the Dominican Republic starts from the end and goes back in time, a narrative device that cleverly captures the women's acculturation over 30 years. It shows how they became adults after fleeing a dictatorship, and parts are based on the author's own life. This book is best for anyone who loves a family epic. Julia Alvarez's How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents is available from publisher Hachette. Meg has always felt like the oddball misfit, but she finds her unique gifts when she and her siblings embark on a quest to find their missing father. Under the care of a trio of women with supernatural powers, they become closer while exploring a new fantasy world. This classic won the Newbery Medal. This book is best for those who like quest novels. Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time is available from publisher Macmillan. After a plane carrying a group of British schoolboys crashes on an island, they establish their own society that degrades into chaos in a frighteningly short span. The novel examines the role of order in society as well as the loss of innocence. Another classic, it remains a staple in schools. This book is best for anyone interested in group dynamics' influence on coming of age. William Golding's The Lord of the Flies is available from publisher Penguin Random House. Longlisted for the National Book Award and Carnegie Medal in Fiction, Ocean Vuong's autobiographical novel is told in letter form, a son writing to his mother. The author examines addiction, violence and trauma as the narrator leads up to a big revelation. This book is best for anyone looking for a more mature narrator (late 20s). Ocean Vuong's On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous is available from publisher Penguin Random House. Ocean Vuong at the Valentino & CULTURED Magazine celebrate 'CULT100' held at The Morgan Library & ... More Museum on April 29, 2024 in New York City. He wrote one of the greatest coming of age novels. One of the most-beloved coming of age tales still rings true more than seven decades after publication. Teen Holden Caulfield feels alienated from and angry with everyone in his life after getting booted from prep schools. He spends a few days trawling around New York City, outing the phonies and growing up. This book is best for those looking for a critique of superficiality. J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is available from publisher Penguin Random House. Introverted, nerdy Gene and outgoing, charismatic Phineas are opposites, but their connection at boarding school during World War II changes their lives. The bestselling novel shows the impact of losing innocence and the danger that lurks in trying to outdo others rather than building your own self-worth. This book is best for those who enjoy classics. John Knowles's A Separate Peace is available from publisher Simon & Schuster. Set in World War II Germany, The Book Thief follows a young girl in foster care tortured by memories of her brother's death. She finds comfort in stealing and reading books, and she bonds with a Jewish man her foster parents hide from the Nazis. The book has been made into a film and a musical. This book is best for those who enjoy historical fiction. Markus Zusak's The Book Thief is available from publisher Penguin Random House. This gorgeous novel-in-verse won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature and the Michael L. Printz Award. Xiomara and her family have very different ideas of what's right and wrong for a teenage girl in Harlem. She channels her passion and rebellion into a poetry slam club, where she excels. This book is best for those who want to read about parent-teen conflicts. Elizabeth Acevedo's The Poet X is available from publisher HarperCollins. Set in 1983 Italy, the novel follows the burgeoning relationship between 17-year-old Elio and his father's graduate assistant, Oliver. Their initial frostiness heats up quickly, but taboos of the time and their reticence to defy them ultimately doom their relationship. The book, the third in a series, was made into an Oscar-nominated movie. This book is best for those looking for gay coming of age books. André Aciman's Call Me by Your Name is available from publisher Macmillan. Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer, stars of the movie "Call Me By Your Name," based on the great ... More coming of age novel. Richard Wright's acclaimed novel, which lays bare the racism of the United States, shows how a deadly accident changes the life of Bigger Thomas in 1930s Chicago. Wright's unflinching account of being a young Black man has become a modern must-read, though it's often been banned. This book is best for anyone looking for sharp, still-relevant insights on race. Richard Wright's Black Boy is available from publisher HarperCollins. Often counted among the great American novels, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn follows Huck after he fakes his own death to get away from his dad and sets off on a raft trip down the Mississippi River with formerly enslaved man Jim. The book is frequently banned for language, including racial epithets. This book is best for those who recently read Percival Everett's Finn retelling, James. Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is available from publisher Penguin Random House. Augie Pullman, who has a genetic condition causing facial deformities, enters traditional school for the first time, and it's a rough transition. As he faces bullying and tween two-facedness, his family navigates challenges of supporting him in this multi-viewpoint novel. Wonder also joined a roster of standout coming of age films. This book is best for those searching for novels about kids with disabilities. R.J. Palacio's Wonder is available from publisher Penguin Random House. Margaret is confronting some big life changes, including her family's move to the suburbs, the onset of puberty and her uncertainties about religion. As the daughter of a Christian mother and Jewish father, she wants to bridge the faith gaps while also fitting in socially at her new school. This book is best for girls entering puberty. Judy Blume's Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret is available from publisher Simon & Schuster. Author Judy Blume attends an "Are You There God It's Me, Margaret" conversation and screening at The ... More 92NY on April 24, 2023 in New York City. Her book is one of the great coming of age stories. Twelve-year-old Jody is isolated in post-Civil War Florida, and so he makes friends with a fawn who visits his farm. While he and the animal have some great adventures, in the end, the friendship is doomed, teaching Jody lessons about family, loyalty and duty. This book is best for readers interested in family conflict. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings's The Yearling is available from Simon & Schuster. A selection for the New York Times list of best books of the 21st century, The Kite Runner is set in Afghanistan and examines issues of class and privilege. Amir is a privileged boy who fails to intervene when a friend is sexually and physically assaulted, a decision that haunts him into his successful adulthood. This book is best for anyone looking for coming of age tales echoing into adulthood. Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner is available from publisher Penguin Random House. Sixteen-year-old Steve is accused of being the lookout when a Harlem storeowner is murdered. Now on trial, Steve disassociates throughout his trial by using his skills as an amateur filmmaker to frame his own story. But even he begins to find the truth about the murder obscured. This book is best for those wanting a modern classic. Walter Dean Williams's Monster is available from HarperCollins. Before the term 'YA books' had even been coined, Jane Austen's Emma was setting the standard for coming of age novels. The titular character is clever, stubborn and wealthy, a born matchmaker whose couplings aren't always successful. She needs to grow up to see why. Popular teen film Clueless is based on Emma. This book is best for fans of classic romance novels. Jane Austen's Emma is available from publisher Penguin Random House. A novel told in vignettes, The House on Mango Street narrates the story of Esperanza, a 12-year-old Latina girl in Chicago who harbors great dreams but also faces great obstacles. The novel, praised for its outstanding character building, earned the 2025 Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Book. This book is best for those looking for an accessible coming of age tale. Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street is available from publisher Penguin Random House. Bottom Line Whether you prefer books for teens or for adults, this list of best coming of age tales has something you will connect to. Enjoy stepping into someone else's shoes and seeing how their stories compare to your own.
Los Angeles Times
13 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
How Kamasi Washington and 100 musicians filled LACMA's empty new building with a sonic work of art
'The general public was admitted to new Los Angeles County Museum of Art for the first time on Friday night — not to look at art but to listen to music,' wrote Times music critic Albert Goldberg in 1965. Exactly 70 years and three months later, history repeated itself. Thursday night was the first time the public was allowed into LACMA's David Geffen Galleries. The occasion was a massive sonic event led by jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington. More than a hundred musicians spread out in nine groups along 900-foot serpentine route of Peter Zumthor's new building, still empty of art. The celebration, which drew arts and civic leaders for the first of three preview nights, was far grander than the concert on March 26,1965, that opened LACMA's Leo S. Bing Theatre the night before the doors opened to the museum's original galleries. That occasion, a program by the legendary Monday Evening Concerts in which Pierre Boulez conducted the premiere of his 'Éclat,' helped symbolize an exuberant L.A. coming of age, with the Music Center having opened three months earlier. Monday Evening Concerts had been a true L.A. event drawing local musical celebrities including Igor Stravinsky and showing off L.A.'s exceptional musicians. The mandolinist in 'Éclat,' for instance, was Sol Babitz, the father of the late, quintessential L.A. writer Eve Babitz. Boulez, an explosive composer, eventually turned the 10-minute ''Éclat,' for 15 instruments' into a 25-minute orchestral masterpiece, 'Éclat/Multiples,' and left unfinished sketches behind to extend that to a full hour. Washington turned out to be the ideal radical expansionist to follow in Boulez's footsteps for the new LACMA, with a resplendent enlargement of his 2018 half-hour EP, 'Harmony of Difference.' The short tracks — 'Desire,' 'Knowledge,' 'Perspective,' 'Humility,' 'Integrity' and 'Truth' — employ nearly three dozen musicians in bursts of effusive wonder. For LACMA, Washington tripled the number of musicians and the length. What some critics thought were bursts of bluster, however enthralling, became outright splendor. Introducing the program, LACMA Director Michael Govan called it an event that has never happened before and may never happen again. I got little sense of what this building will be like as a museum with art on the walls, but it's a great space for thinking big musically and, in the process, for finding hope in an L.A. this year beset by fires and fear-inducing troops on our streets. Washington is one of our rare musicians who thrives on excess. He has long been encouraged to aim toward concision, especially in his longer numbers, in which his untiring improvisations can become exhausting in their many climaxes. But that misses the point. I've never heard him play anything, short or long, that couldn't have been three times longer. His vision is vast, and he needs space. In the David Geffen Galleries, he got it. The nine ensembles included a large mixed band that he headed, along with ensembles of strings, brass, woodwinds and choruses. Each played unique arrangements of the songs, not quite synchronized, but if you ambled the long walkways, you heard the material in different contexts as though this were sonic surrealism. Acoustically, the Geffen is a weird combination. The large glass windows and angled concrete walls reflect sound in very different ways. Dozens of spaces vary in shape, size and acoustical properties. During a media tour earlier in the day, I found less echo than might be expected, though each space had its own peculiarities. Washington's ensembles were all carefully amplified and sounded surprisingly liquid, which made walking a delight as the sounds of different ensembles came in and out of focus. A chorus' effusiveness gradually morphed into an ecstatic Washington saxophone solo down the way that then became a woodwind choir that had an organ-like quality. The whole building felt alive. There was also the visual element. The concert took place at sunset, the light through the large windows ever changing, the 'Harmony of Difference' becoming the differences of the bubbling tar pits nearby or the street life on Wilshire or LACMA's Pavilion for Japanese Art, which looks lovely from the new galleries. Govan's vision is of a place where art of all kinds from all over comes together, turning the galleries into a promenade of discovery. Musically, this falls more in line with John Cage's 'Musicircus,' in which any number of musical ensembles perform at chance-derived times as a carnival of musical difference — something for which the Geffen Galleries is all but tailor-made. Nevertheless, Washington brilliantly demonstrated the new building's potential for dance, opera, even theater. The museum may not have made performance a priority in recent years, but Washington also reminded us that the premiere of Boulez' 'Éclat' put music in LACMA's DNA. Seven decades on, Zumthor, whether he intended it or not, now challenges LACMA to become LACMAP: Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Performance.
