The Rogovoy Report 10.9.23

From around the corner to around the globe...

Oct 08, 2023

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REQUIRED READING

Norwegian writer Jon Fosse won the Nobel Prize in Literature last week.

Jon Fosse, the Nobel Prize, and the Art of What Can’t Be Named

(New Yorker) - When the Swedish Academy awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature to Jon Fosse last week, they described his colossal, genre-spanning body of work as giving “voice to the unsayable.” What I think the Academy meant is that, across his forty-odd plays, his novels, his essays, and his children’s books, what is unsayable — the absolute depths of abandonment, shame, love, and grace — is felt without needing to be named, surpassing the mere arrangement of words on a page.

READ MORE:

The Nobel winner whose writing speaks to everyone (The Atlantic)

With Jon Fosse’s win, the Nobel Prize in Literature is so back (TNR)

Jon Fosse: The Mystical Realist (NYRB)

Karl Ove Knausgaard on fellow Norwegian writer and mentor Jon Fosse (LitHub)

Donald Trump’s word is good when it comes to threats of violence and plans for fascism (Luscian Truscott)

Trump escalates anti-immigrant rhetoric with antisemitic ‘poisoning the blood’ comment (NYT)

Al Gore doesn’t say I told you so (New Yorker)

Waking to an attack from Hamas (New Yorker)

A devastating attack by Hamas - How did Israel not see it coming? (The Atlantic)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

'Tree Logic,' which has lined the entrance to MASS MoCA for 25 years, will be coming down for good this week.

MASS MoCA Uprooting Iconic Upside-Down Trees

(iBerkshires) NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The trees will no longer grow upside-down in the Steeple City. Natalie Jeremijenko’s meditation on resiliency, Tree Logic, will be retired after 25 years of turning heads at the entrance to MASS MoCA. The museum announced on its Facebook page that the trees will be removed. They will be on view until Monday. Read also, After nearly 25 years, MASS MoCA is retiring its iconic ‘upside-down’ tree installation (Berkshire Eagle)

Mirza Hamid, the ‘Banksy of Iran,’ Opens Show in Hudson

(ATU) - An exhibition presented by The New Gallery at Basilica Hudson this month brings the work of a mysterious Iranian street artist to the Hudson Valley. “The Origin of All Things,” which runs from Oct. 5-29, contains paintings, photographs of street murals, and corresponding original drawings by the Tehran-based street muralist who goes by the pseudonym Mirza Hamid. Hamid’s true identity is unknown; he’s called “The Banksy of Iran” in his home country, where his work is well known.

Karen Allen poses for a portrait in her store, Karen Allen’s Fiber Arts, in Great Barrington. Best known for her roles in "Animal House" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark," Allen now acts, directs, teaches, and designs and makes knitwear in Western Mass. (Erin Clark/Globe Staff)

Thirty-Five Years Ago, Karen Allen Fell in Love with the Berkshires. Today, It’s Her Creative Haven.

(Boston Globe) GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Actress Karen Allen was in her early 30s when she realized she might find happiness — and balance — in the Berkshires. She was living in New York, already a movie star after roles in 1978′s “Animal House” and 1981′s “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” She had injured a vocal cord during a run of a Broadway-bound play, and sought the help of voice coach Kristin Linklater, who lived in West Stockbridge. Allen stayed in the Berkshires for six weeks during a New England spring, working with Linklater to heal, and using her days off to ride around the area on a bicycle, absorbing the scenery. It was during these peaceful rides that Allen decided to call a realtor. She found a place she loved. Thirty-five years later, Allen said she’s been able to create not just a good career, but a good life here, doing all the things she likes. She acts, directs, teaches, knits, runs a store (Karen Allen Fiber Arts in Great Barrington), and has tackled a long list of home improvement projects that makes her life beautiful.

READ MORE:

Didn’t make it to Tanglewood this summer? A fall stroll sounds just as good. (Boston Globe)

After pandemic-induced delays, restoration of former Clinton A.M.E. Zion Church in Great Barrington continues (Berkshire Edge)

Petition opposing Du Bois sculpture plunges Great Barrington back in time to racist red-baiting (B Eagle) The facts about the W.E.B. Du Bois Sculpture Project (B Edge)

Eisner Camp in Great Barrington now home to summer sleepaway camp for Jewish adults (B Globe)

A Great Barrington postal worker wins lottery to buy $250K house. Now she and her family are helping others (Berkshire Eagle)

Monday deadline for public comments on GE’s Housatonic River ‘cleanup’ (NEPM)

Tourists owners say delays in brownfield remediation project could derail development project in North Adams (WAMC)

Lever celebrates launch of Massachusetts Founders Network with ribbon cutting in North Adams (WAMC)

Williamstown considers takeover of Spruces Park (iBerkshires)

Pittsfield considers ban on median standing to combat panhandling (iBerkshires)

New England-based neo-Nazi group trying to recruit new members in southeast Mass (B Globe)

NEWS FROM THE HUDSON VALLEY

The Other New York Is Wild

(British GQ) HUDSON VALLEY, N.Y. - Dramatic mountain ranges, red barns, and endless starry skies – if you just went by IG, you might mistake the Hudson Valley for Big Sky or Jackson Hole. But its filmic vistas and outdoorsy vibes are only a two-hour drive from New York. Just follow the river north and you’ll reach the lush constellation of farms, mountains and towns that make up the Valley. Hudson Valley has long welcomed creatives fleeing the city, yet it very much has that untouched rural US energy: vast forests and tumbling rivers, scant Starbucks (albeit a few Trump 2024 flags). Lately, though, a handful of luxury resorts have been betting big on the growing appeal of the Valley’s out-of-the-way charm to city dwellers and tourists alike.

READ MORE:

Pocketbook Factory developers eye purchase of Wick Hotel and development of Dunn Warehouse in Hudson (GoR)

Made X Hudson expands its sustainable fashion offerings with two retail shops in Catskill and Hudson (Chronogram)

Hudson school district's new inclusion manager already impressed by schools' diversity (HV360)

Enhanced surveillance and security proposed for Columbia-Greene Community College (HV360)

Jill Biden visits Hudson Valley to promote federal investments (WAMC)

Greene, Columbia counties in NY top 20 for small business (HV360)

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