This week’s poem: Harley Shiner’s “an attachment to pearls” artsfuse.org/331577/weekl...

David Greenham on the Gloucester Stage production of Harold Pinter's "Betrayal": This crisp revival turns emotional recoil, backward chronology, and elegant restraint into a sharp study of infidelity. artsfuse.org/331509/theat...

Rob Duguay talks to the rising Nashville artist #DanielDonato about genre-blending, spiritual energy onstage, and a full-circle live album. Donato and his backing band, Cosmic Country, will perform at the #levitatemusicfestival.

For Jon Garelick, guitarist and composer Eric Hofbauer and EHX's two-disc album “Tongues” and “Hope/Language" turns a wide-ranging songbook into a cohesive, emotionally charged jazz narrative. artsfuse.org/331496/jazz-...

Rebecca Leamon admires "What Clever Friends" (University of Michigan Press) This collection of the letters between writers Jane Kenyon and Alice Mattison offer a moving portrait of literary life, daily labor, and mutual devotion. artsfuse.org/331260/book-...

The newsletter has arrived: My column is on how artists might respond to the new threat, according to Donald Trump, that communism poses to America. artsfuse.substack.com/p/the-red-sc...

Julie Trebault on Peggy Levitt's "Move Over, Mona Lisa" (@stanfordpress.bsky.social). This provocative book maps the “inequality pipeline” linking museums, publishing, and academia—and challenges the systems that shape what the world sees and reads. artsfuse.org/331323/book-...

Ann Leamon on Christian Wiman's poetry collection "The Dance." @fsgbooks.bsky.social: The collection assembles moments of doubt, humor, and revelation into a resonant poetic experience. artsfuse.org/331233/book-...

Scott McLennan and Paul Robicheau take turns reviewing #Goose's nights at the Leader Bank Pavilion: The band's blitz on night one dovetailed improvisation with irresistibly catchy rock. On night two, the jam band proved its mettle at the transcendent heart of the concert. artsfuse.org/331098/

Paul Robicheau at #Wilco's #SolidSoundFestival: a @billybragg.bsky.social reunion, festival deep cuts, and a weekend of discovery turn #massmoca into a communal music feast. artsfuse.org/331012/music...

Christopher Caggiano writes that "Trips," currently running at The Joyce Theater, pairs classic #pilobolus works with new creations, reaffirming what has made the company one of dance's most distinctive ensembles. artsfuse.org/331040/dance...

With Carlos Simon’s "Four Black American Dances," writes Jonathan Blumhofer, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Manfred Honeck offer a thoughtful and resonant recontextualization of Dvořák’s Ninth. Reference Recordings artsfuse.org/331055/class...

@pkeough1.bsky.social on "Romería": Spanish director Carla Simón’s dreamlike family drama merges mother and daughter, past and present, in a moving search for identity. Screening at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, July 3 through 9. artsfuse.org/331074/film-...

The week’s poem: Tracey McTague’s “it’s a scarlet tanager kind of day” artsfuse.org/331089/weekl...

This week's newsletter is out and about. My column is a call for critical discrimination: A book culture that cannot see the value of sustaining negative judgments—or even mixed appraisals—undercuts the very conditions that make praise matter. artsfuse.substack.com/p/book-revie...

For @kuntsuragi.bsky.social, #JackassBestAndLast” is a ragged farewell that mixes new stunts with archival scraps as #johnnyknoxville and his merry band of masochists age out of self-destruction. artsfuse.org/330979/film-...

David Mehegan on #RowanJacobsen's "In Defense of Sunlight: The Surprising Science of Sun Exposure" (@scribnerbooks.bsky.social): A science writer challenges the orthodoxy on sun exposure, arguing for its benefits while downplaying its risks. artsfuse.org/330804/book-...

@michaellondra.bsky.social on "Where the Music Had to Go: How #bobdylan and the #beatles Changed Each Other—and The World" @scribnerbooks.bsky.social: Jim Windolf’s joint portrait argues that competition between icons did not divide them—it reshaped modern music. artsfuse.org/330745/book-...

From exile to everyday kindness, writes Cyrisse Jaffee, these children's books trace how belonging is built—through resilience, community, and imagination. artsfuse.org/330717/child...?

Brian Shovelton talks to Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame inductee Mark Cutler about his The Same Thing Project: a program of community songwriting workshops that transform shared experience into collective sound. artsfuse.org/330729/arts-...

This week's poem: Chris Siteman’s “Mermaids” artsfuse.org/330776/weekl...

The Arts Fuse newsletter has arrived -- it includes an invitation to listen to Editor Bill Marx and others, on The Short Fuse podcast, grapple with the question of what role the arts. artsfuse.substack.com/p/can-the-ar...?

Paul Robicheau on the #GreenRiverFestival: A record crowd for genre-blurring acts, with Geese and Wednesday signaling a shift in the festival’s identity. artsfuse.org/330656/festi...

Kathleen C Stone on Denise Kiernan’s "Obstinate Daughters: The Rebels, Writers, and Renegade Women Who Ignited the American Revolution" @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social. This accessible study restores the often overlooked figures who shaped our country's founding. artsfuse.org/330605/book-...

Paul Robicheau on The Bad Plus -- at Groton Hill Music, the veteran ensemble leaned into mood and understatement as its final touring year begins. artsfuse.org/330592/jazz-...

The queer-friendly 2026 #provincetownfilmfestival featured fine documentaries on lesbian icons Mary Oliver and Billie Jean KIng. Here's Gerald Peary's approving take on the P-Town Fest. artsfuse.org/330528/film-...

The Arts Fuse, for 19 years, has been committed to nurturing the arts by making critical judgements and generating dialogue that insists on their importance in our lives. Please generously support the non-profit magazine's Spring Appeal. artsfuse.org/329015/sprin...

For Thomas F. Connolly, Oliver Hilmes’s historical study "Summer of Freedom: How 1945 Changed the World " (OtherPress) serves up lots of vivid snapshots —but there's no attempt to explain how the world changed. artsfuse.org/330369/book-...

Tim Jackson was at this year's #provincetownfilmfest: films by Greg Araki and others explored erotic power, artistic identity, and spiritual unease—alongside a quietly inspiring portrait of painter Anne Packard. artsfuse.org/330420/film-...

My gratitude to those who have already contributed to the non-profit publication's Spring Appeal. For those who have not yet donated to the cause, please consider making as generous a gift as you can. artsfuse.org/keep-the-fus...