Hump Day Reader #1

It's Wednesday!  To get you through the week, your Friendly Neighborhood Dramaturg has put together a reader of mentally stimulating articles on theatre, society, and culture.  Pieces are chosen for their stimulating nature, unique viewpoints, and enjoyable readability.  Happy Hump Day!

Critical Generosity by Jill Dolan.  Jill writes for the inaugural issue of Public:  A Journal for Imagining America about the ability for the intellectual and the artist to give back to their society.

Age-ism, Classism, and the Future of New Play Development of "Watch the Throne" by Ira Gamerman.  Gamerman puts an angry foot forward in Howlround: A Journal of the Theatre Commons to chart the difficulty of early-career artists, particularly playwrights, in dealing with contemporary gatekeepers.

Critical Thinking #4: Daniel Mendelsohn by David Wolf.  Wolf interviews Mendelsohn in Prospect Magazine about the importance of criticism and critics in the arts.

How to Waste a Crisis by Mike Konczal.  Konczal reviews Phillip Mirowski's Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste.

J. R. R. Tolkien on Fairy Tales, Language, the Psychology of Fantasy, and Why There’s No Such Thing as Writing “For Children” by Maria Popova.  Popova explores Tolkein's concepts of "children's literature" and the importance of fantasy and myth for adults.