Thinking About the Longstanding Problems of Virtue: Essays, A Play, Two Poems and a Prayer
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.16 (503 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 155936100X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 276 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-06-15 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
He wrote the screenplays for Mike Nichols’s film of Angels in America and for Steven Spielberg’s Munich and Lincoln. Tony Kushner’s plays include Angels in America; Hydriotaphia, or the Death of Dr. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2012, he was awarded a National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama. His books include The Art of Maurice Sendak: 1980 to the Presen
His talent and his heart and his head are incendiary, combustible, explosive, heartbreakingly vital and on-target. He lives in Manhattan with his husband, Mark Harris.. He wrote the screenplays for Mike Nichols’s film of Angels in America and for Steven Spielberg’s Munich and Lincoln. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His books include The Art of Maurice Sendak: 1980 to the Present; Brundibar, with illustrations by Maurice Sendak; and Wrestling with Zion: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, co-edited with Alisa Solomon.Among many honors, Kushner is the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, two Tony Awards, three Obie Awards, two Evening Standard Awards, an Olivier Award, an Emmy Award, two Oscar nominations, and the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award. In 2012, he was awarded a National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama. This volume by Tony Kushner features the play Slavs!, a comic, mordant and marvelously provocative” look at the crumbling of the Soviet Union (SF Chronicle), as well as several essays, two poems and a prayer.Kushner is an intense and poetical writer, a great shaper of words.” Laurie Winer, LA Time
You will have to be better than most, not just as good as." He also adds that in "becoming humorless we lose connection to the most vital parts of our culture." In this collection of nine essays (taken from addresses and articles), two lukewarm poems, a play and a moving prayer, he proves the validity of his own maxims. Less convincing is his screed against the Gulf war, of which he says, "No single event during the course of my lifetime Kushner was born in 1956, nothing that I can remember has occasioned such depression and despair as has the Gulf War." The play, a funny, insightful piece set in post-glasnost Russia, explores an ultimate crisis of faith, and in one of its best scenes, the old revolutionary Aleksii Antedilluvianovich Prelapsarianov exclaims "For ninety years I have wondered WHY is the Good Cause always defeated by the Bad. His most cogently argued position is that gay liberation must be linked to a fight against
Talking about "Thinking about" This book, a compilation of many short works, is truly one of Kushner's gems. And though, certainly, none of these pieces attains the truly unique, Kushnerian glory of "Angels" (but Good God, does *anything*?) they are most definitely not to be put aside too hastily.His essays are enlightening, witty and thought-provoking, reminiscent of his drama. And though there are a few that I, admittedly, skip over periodically, most of them are fun, if slightly heavy, short reads."Slavs!" is not one of Kushner's best play. Griffin Epstein said assembling a book, like baking lasagna. Kushner (perhaps the greatest poetic/playwright genius of our time) has assembled some of his more marginal works (though few of his works actually are marginal) and some of his most brilliant in this collection of "essays, a play, two poems and a prayer." having read all of his plays, including his Tony Award Winning "Angels in America" two part masterpiece, i have to say that SLAVS, while it present a brilliant message, isnt the best of his works. Sometimes, also, these essays can be repetitive. however, some . Not sure So I am not sure if I misunderstood but I was under the impression the play Slavs! Was in this book. However, upon wireless purchase to my kindle I have not been able to find it :( the rest of the book is a wonderful read (especially if you are a Kushman fan) I just wish I could find the play.