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theartsfuse.bsky.social
The Arts Fuse
@theartsfuse.bsky.social
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Boston's Premier Online Arts Magazine
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theartsfuse.bsky.social
Peg Aloi on #KristenStewart's auspicious filmmaking debut, "The Chronology of Water." The movie is a powerful voyage into demanding psychological territory: actress #ImogenPoots makes for a formidable sentinel and Stewart a masterful guide.

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Film Review: “The Chronology of Water” — Stormy Depths, and Stillness - The Arts Fuse
How often do we see movies that successfully delve into what it means to become a mature adult after a traumatic childhood?
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January 24, 2026 at 12:33 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
Peg Aloi has reservations about "28YearsLater: The Bone Temple," but concludes that fans of this ongoing horror narrative will find much to appreciate in its latest chapter.

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Film Review: "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" - A Bloody Apocalypse - The Arts Fuse
Fans of this ongoing horror narrative will find much to appreciate in its latest chapter.
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January 22, 2026 at 6:36 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
For Paul Robicheau, Shame’s latest record and Monday’s holiday show at the Brighton Music Hall both prove the twin-guitar quintet has matured in sound and spirit while still flashing youthful spunk.

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January 22, 2026 at 6:28 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
Tim Jackson on #JimJarmusch's new film "Father Mother Sister Brother": The recurring rituals, images, and gestures in this segmented narrative offer moments of dry humor, but suggest that we all belong to one big flawed human family.

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Film Review: Love, Distance, and What Remains - "Father Mother Sister Brother" - The Arts Fuse
Jim Jarmusch’s films resist cliches and conventional dramatic formulas — understatement is the rule.
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January 22, 2026 at 1:55 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
@sarahminaosman.bsky.social on "The Doctors’ Riot of 1788": For all the book's rewards as a gross-out experience, the study has an ethical question at its core: does the search for medical knowledge outweigh our respect for human life and death?

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Book Review: Dissecting the Past - Andy McPhee’s Chilling History of America's Medical Progress - The Arts Fuse
For all its rewards as a gross-out experience, "The Doctors’ Riot of 1788" has an ethical question at its core: does the search for medical knowledge outweigh our respect for human life and death?
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January 22, 2026 at 1:53 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
This week’s poem: J.D. Scrimgeour’s “Evening Walk, Late December”

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Weekly Feature: Poetry at The Arts Fuse - The Arts Fuse
This week's poem: J.D. Scrimgeour's "Evening Walk, Late December"
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January 22, 2026 at 1:52 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
The newsletter has been launched. My column is on Jack London's 1908 novel "The Iron Heel," the first modern novel to issue an alarm about dictatorship in America. London would have turned 150 this month.

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January 21, 2026 at 1:44 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
@aaronkeebaugh.bsky.social reviews the latest installment in @bostonsymphony.bsky.social's multi-year “E Pluribus Unum” festival.

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Concert Review: Boston Symphony Orchestra Seeks Unity in “E Pluribus Unum” Festival - The Arts Fuse
Reflecting on our divisive politics, BSO music director Andris Nelsons told the concert audience that “Every tunnel has light at the end.”
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January 21, 2026 at 1:43 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
Reviews of an instant classic for kids, Michael Rosen's "Oh Dear, Look What I Got!," illustrations by Helen Oxenbury, and an established classic, Muriel Spark's "The Very Fine Clock," illustrations by Edward Gorey. @transitbooks.bsky.social @walkerbooksuk.bsky.social

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Children's Book Reviews: Classics - New and Reissued - The Arts Fuse
Enjoy an instant classic for kids and an established classic that is newly available.
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January 21, 2026 at 1:41 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
It’s hard to imagine a vibrant, independent hip hop scene without Atmosphere, the duo of rapper Slug and Ant (Anthony Davis). Rob Duguay talks to Slug about the pair's new album, "Jestures" and its upcoming show at #houseofbluesboston.

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Musician’s Interview: Atmosphere's Slug Talks About the Art of Making "Jestures" - The Arts Fuse
"Art can be heartbreaking, but you don't have to let it break your heart for it to be good. You just have to have the correct relationship with it, understanding that it is a continual exercise."
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January 21, 2026 at 1:39 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
Scott McLennan writes that Mike Mattison's "Turn a Midnight Corner" is one of those records that has the right mix of risk and guile. It doesn’t so much tell a story as summon one, track by track.

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Rock Album Review: A Road-Tested Revelation - Mike Mattison’s "Turn a Midnight Corner" - The Arts Fuse
"Turn a Midnight Corner" is one of those records that has the right mix of risk and guile. It doesn’t so much tell a story as summon one, track by track.
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January 20, 2026 at 2:41 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
Our expert critics -- Jon Garelick, Peg Aloi, Peter Walsh, Noah Schaffer, Matt Hanson, Tim Jackson, Jonathan Blumhofer, and me -- supply a guide to film, visual art, theater, author readings, television, and music. More offerings will be added as they come in.

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Coming Attractions: January 18 through February 2 — What Will Light Your Fire - The Arts Fuse
Our expert critics supply a guide to film, visual art, theater, author readings, television, and music. More offerings will be added as they come in.
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January 19, 2026 at 2:23 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
Clea Simon reviews the novel "The Double Standard Sporting House": the narrative provides a fascinating look inside the complex and compelling world of a pioneering female doctor who treats women, primarily sex workers, in the maelstrom of post-Civil War New York City.

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Book Review: Medicine, Morality, and the Women of “The Double Standard Sporting House” - The Arts Fuse
For those ready to make the investment, "The Double Standard Sporting House" is a fascinating look inside a complex and compelling world.
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January 18, 2026 at 1:25 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
Ed Symkus on #DeadMansWire: When big business steps on a small man, watch out!

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Film Review: “Dead Man’s Wire” – Getting Even Can Be Very Dark Fun - The Arts Fuse
When big business steps on a small man, watch out!
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January 16, 2026 at 3:34 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
This week’s poem: Wes Kaplan’s “The Lego Rose is Obsolete”This week’s poem: Wes Kaplan’s “The Lego Rose is Obsolete”

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January 15, 2026 at 1:27 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
The newsletter is out and about -- my column is about a book that calls for us to nurture independent, communal life outside the virtual bubble-world of what has become an overpowering techno mind-suck.

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January 14, 2026 at 3:47 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
Bill Littlefield on "Prison Abolition For Realists" (University of Minnesota Press). Anna Terwiel makes a strong case for persevering in a contest that will probably take a long time to win.

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Book Review: Imagining a World Beyond Prisons - Anna Terwiel’s "Prison Abolition for Realists" - The Arts Fuse
"Prison Abolition For Realists" makes a strong case for persevering in a contest that will probably take a long time to win.
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January 14, 2026 at 3:46 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
@sarahminaosman.bsky.social writes that #Twinless is by far the most surprising film she's seen in a long time. Director and writer #JamesSweeney takes viewers on a memorable emotional roller coaster ride.

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Film Review: "Twinless" — A Double Take on Loss, Love, and Selfhood - The Arts Fuse
"Twinless" is by far the most surprising film I’ve seen in a long time. I relished the emotional rollercoaster ride director and writer James Sweeney takes us on.
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January 13, 2026 at 1:24 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
Michael Ullman reviews Kris Davis and the Lutoslawski Quartet's album "The Solastalgia Suite" (@pyroclastic.bsky.social) In its evocativeness, shapeliness, and meaningful drama, this disc is Kris Davis’s masterpiece… so far.

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Jazz Album Review: Kris Davis Expresses Environmental Grief Through Music in "The Solastalgia Suite" - The Arts Fuse
In its evocativeness, shapeliness, and meaningful drama, "Solastalgia Suite" is Kris Davis’s masterpiece… so far.
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January 13, 2026 at 1:22 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
The 20th Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll: Onwards for an invaluable poll from a community of critics that gives us a map to an expansive world of jazz to explore — with hints at terra incognita.

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January 13, 2026 at 1:21 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
Scott McLennan on the late #bobweir: he protected the integrity and idealism of the #gratefuldead’s music, playing the band’s songs year after year with a sense of wonder that he never lost touch with.

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Musician Remembrance: Homage to Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead - The Arts Fuse
Bob Weir protected the integrity and idealism of the Grateful Dead's music, playing the band's songs year after year with a sense of wonder that he never lost touch with.
artsfuse.org
January 11, 2026 at 6:37 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
David Daniel on a #Netflix documentary about the heralded journalist #SeymourHersh: Given the current administration’s attacks on independent reporters, "Cover-Up" couldn’t be timelier.

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Film Review: "Cover-Up" Reminds Us Why Investigative Journalism Still Matters - The Arts Fuse
Given the current administration's attacks on independent journalism, "Cover-Up" couldn’t be timelier.
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January 11, 2026 at 6:36 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
Ed Meek on David Szalay’s Booker Prize-winning novel "Flesh" (@scribnerbooks.bsky.social): it focuses on a current type of western male: one whose emotional growth and adult development are stunted by his inability to express himself and understand who he is.

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Book Review: Trapped in the Present Tense - The Bleak Masculinity of David Szalay’s “Flesh” - The Arts Fuse
David Szalay's novel focuses on a current type of western male: one whose emotional growth and adult development are stunted or limited by his inability to express himself and understand who he is.
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January 11, 2026 at 1:31 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
Peter Walsh on "British Blonde" (@yalepress.bsky.social): Lynda Nead’s meticulous, competent, and impressively researched approach gives the work weight without making it ponderous; this book seems destined to serve as a text for classes in gender or cultural studies.

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Book Review: Blonde Ambition in Postwar Britain: Lynda Nead’s "British Blonde" and the Performance of Desire - The Arts Fuse
Lynda Nead's meticulous, competent, and impressively researched approach gives the work weight without making it ponderous; "British Blonde" seems destined to serve as a text for classes in gender or ...
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January 9, 2026 at 2:02 PM
theartsfuse.bsky.social
Trevor Fairbrother on "The Musical Lives of Charles Manson: The Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Invention of the Sixties —or, No Sense Makes Sense"(@bloomsburybooksus.bsky.social) The book sets out a mix of facts and fictions carefully sampled from the lit on Manson. artsfuse.org/322756/book-...
Book Review: "The Musical Lives of Charles Manson" — Scenes from a Counterculture - The Arts Fuse
Nicholas Tochka is less interested in crafting a coherent portrayal of Charles Manson's "musical lives" than in connecting his critical hypothesis of "the invention of the Sixties" to critical theorie...
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January 9, 2026 at 2:00 PM