The Arts Fuse Newsletter, July 2
Homage to John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme" at 60, "40 Questions About a Political Play," and reviews of E. Jean Carroll's "Not My Type," Phish in New Hampshire, and pianist Jonathan Biss
More on the magazine this week: July Short Fuses! David Mehegan reviews Via Ápia, a novel set in Brazil’s urban lower depths; Michael Londra praises Barbara Henning’s inspiring poetry collection Girlfriend, and Evan Harris is spellbound by the fictional acrobatics of Tidal Lock.
From The Editor's Desk:
One sign of a dystopian future — an acquiescence to library book purges. Ira Wells’ excellent study, On Book Banning: Or, How the New Censorship Consensus Trivializes Art and Undermines Democracy, chronicles a recent exodus. In September 2023, the school board of the Erindale Secondary School in Mississauga, just west of Toronto, took part in “a new equity-based book weeding process.” Overnight, 50% of the school’s holdings were removed from its library shelves. According to the CBC, the vanishing was part of a regional decision “intended to ensure library books are inclusive … and [it] appears to have led some of the schools to remove thousands of books solely because they were published in 2008 or earlier.”
The offending volumes were deemed a “health hazard,” so they had to be disposed of immediately. And, because the culled books were “causing harm, they [the libraries] were forbidden from donating them to charity.” Not only was there the fear of mold, but the books were not “inclusive, culturally responsive, relevant or accurate (racism, stereotypes, microaggressions, lack of representation or erasure of communities, slurs, oppression, etc.). Fahrenheit 451 got it wrong: books won’t be burned, because big bonfires attract too much attention. Condemned material will be (quietly) trucked off to dumps so it can’t be reused. It is unknown how many thousands of books were trashed by the 259 Canadian schools involved.
Wells’s book discusses the perniciousness of book banning across the ideological spectrum. He emphasizes that both sides are committed to instituting a cutthroat political conformity under the guise of “protecting children from harm.” He helpfully distinguishes between different censorship strategies: parental advocacy groups in Florida push public efforts to eliminate books in libraries; institutional efforts in Canada are much more secretive.
“Book banning,” Wells argues, “is a form of coercion, an attempt to not only control what children read, but also what they think.” And he points out that censorship is inevitably accompanied by violence. Librarians have been fired, and in some cases killed, because of the books on their shelves. "No one should be threatened for providing access to information,” Lisa Radha Vohra, Director of Collections and Membership Services at the Toronto Public Library, told him, “I’m not so naïve to think it couldn’t happen here.” Is anyone clueless enough to believe that it couldn’t happen here?
—Bill Marx, Editor-in-Chief
Archive: From the Editor's Desk 2025
Jazz Commentary: John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme” Turns 60 — A Homage
Compiled by Arts Fuse Editor
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the release of John Coltrane’s magisterial album A Love Supreme, which has meant so much to so many. Some of the magazine’s jazz writers wanted to express what the music meant (and still means) to them.
Arts Commentary: Essential Inquiries — “40 Questions About a Political Play”
By Dan O’Brien
Playwright Dan O'Brien offers an excerpt from his latest essay, "40 Questions about a Political Play," published as a pamphlet by Calque Press. The subject is political plays: what they are, and how and why we write them.
Book Review: “Not My Type” — Surviving Trump
By Clea Simon
This is a measured book, harrowing at times but also thoroughly enjoyable. It’s a fun read about a rape trial.
Concert Review: Phish — A Heady Old-School Feast
By Paul Robicheau
For those seeking adventure away from cookie-cutter arena rock, Phish still fit the bill.
Theater Interview: Hip-Hopper Baba Israel on “I Spy an Adventure!”
By Robert Israel
“When you collaborate with an audience and other artists, and you let hip hop flow and intertwine, anything goes.”
Concert Review: Pianist Jonathan Biss — Masterful Performances of Schubert
By Susan Miron
Rockport Chamber Music Festival is in the midst of a stellar season. Saturday evening, the brilliant pianist (and writer) Jonathan Biss gave a sensational recital of two late Schubert sonatas—a music lover’s dream.
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Editor-in-Chief
Bill Marx
wmarx103@gmail.com
