weekend links: Thomas Sayers Ellis, women in Pop Art, Ringo Deathstarr
Evelyne Axell, Ice Cream (1964). Image appears courtesy of The Washington Post/the collection of Serge Goisse. Copyright Artists Rights Society/ADAGP.
Breaking news from the Department of Literary Statistics: books are all about men, and your MFA is pointless. (Also, the Department of Literary Statistics isn’t real. Sorry, data nerds.) But this analysis of the MFA’s impact on “the contemporary novel” has enough fun facts to outweigh its fatalism. [The Atlantic]
Who would win in a fight between fiction writers and statisticians? Preliminary studies suggest the writer. And by preliminary studies, we mean Lincoln Michel’s breezy, biting dismissal of the article linked above. [Electric Literature]
Poet Thomas Sayers Ellis, member of the band Heroes Are Gang Leaders, has been at the center of controversy after being accused of sexual harassment by former bandmate Larkin Grimm. The claim was quickly challenged by another band member, Margaret Morris. VIDA: Women in Literary Arts came to Grimm’s defense, collecting testimonies from anonymous writers and artists that chronicle Ellis’s history of abusive behavior. [VIDA]
As a reminder that women in the arts endure despite persistent marginalization (and outright harassment), enjoy this delightful review of the female artists who were integral to the Pop movement. They’re all currently featured in International Pop at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. [The Washington Post]
We’re quite fond of writer and editor John Freeman after reading his thoughts on class, race, mental health, and achieving dignity through narrative. (Unsurprisingly, his parents are social workers.) [Guernica]
One of our favorite local bands just made the best music video of the year, so y’all can hand over the Moonman now. Ringo Deathstarr’s “Stare at the Sun” features a cast of dogs dressed as humans, but doing dog-like things, like humping and mauling. (Full disclosure: we’re friends with the Shiba Inu.) [Noisey]
Cancel SXSW, we’ve reached peak Austin: Mondo Gallery’s No Longer / Not Yet: A Tribute to Richard Linklater opens tomorrow. All joking aside, Mondo posters are rad. [Austin Chronicle]