Yeats, Beckett, and Joyce are darkly poetic and philosophically enthralling. They are also not the only excellent Irish writers out there. This Saint Patrick’s Day, grab a book to go with your Guinness – and try someone new!
Click here for a list of contemporary and classic Irish writers.
In The Three Musketeers, arguably one of the greatest swordplay books of all time, d’Artagnan’s father tells him, “Never fear quarrels, but seek hazardous adventures. I have taught you how to handle a sword; you have thews of iron, a wrist of steel; fight on all occasions; fight the more for duels being forbidden.”
To view the fights of d’Artagnan and other swordsmen in fiction, click here.
OH, NO! Aliens are here to invade our bodies and take over Earth. Wait…what about…OH, NO! Humans have accidentally destroyed the Earth and now have to find another oxygen-rich world. Planetary colonization is a major theme within sci-fi, and there are plenty of ways in which it can go down.
Click here to see fiction, and a few movies, that feature planetary colonization.
Hollywood gossip tells us that there are all sorts of biopics coming down the line. Supposedly, Don Cheadle has a Miles Davis project; there is a Nina Simone movie, multiple Marvin Gaye films, a Mahalia Jackson movie, and a Sam Cooke project. That’s not even denting the list…but none of them are completed.
Click here if you don’t want to wait to see excellent African American biopics.
After the American Civil War, many African Americans moved from rural Southern locations to Northern locales. One of the epicenters for burgeoning African American culture was Harlem in New York City. The Harlem Renaissance (1918 – 1937) was a literary, musical, and visually artistic era that served as a cultural awakening, wherein racist beliefs of African Americans were broken down and African American culture was expanded through the arts.
Click here to get acquainted with writers of the Harlem Renaissance.
Shakespeare has given us some of the most beautiful romances in history. Hemingway has given us some of the most controversial. Anaïs Nin, some of the most erotic. What inspired these writers, and others, to create such intense, arduous affairs in literature?
Click here for nonfiction on the real life romances of writers.
Izzy Sanabria, a Latin music promoter from New York, was credited with popularizing the term “salsa” to define Latin dance music in the 1970s. Tito Puente hated the term, and supposedly stated, “I’m a musician, not a cook.” Whether you call it Cuban music, Latin music, or salsa, it can really get a joint jumping.
Click here to get your salsa listening party started.
The film Amadeus recounts Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s life and success as a classical composer. Immortal Beloved dramatizes the life and true love of Ludwig Beethoven. Sometimes a movie isn’t enough. There have been plenty of novels starring these, and other, classical composers.
Click here for a list of novels featuring famous classical composers.
It’s a new year, so how about thinking of the world around you in a new way? The Earth is the only planet that can sustain life in humanity’s foreseeable future. Take some time to learn more about it, the way we currently use it, and some of the ways that we could use it better.
Click here to see for documentaries focusing on crucial environmental issues.
