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Explore DC: Poetry Slam Events in the DMV Area

Explore DC: Poetry Slam Events in the DMV Area

A Glimpse of "Andy Warhol- From A to B and Back Again”

Over spring break, my family and I ventured down to The Whitney Museum of Art on the Lower West Side of Manhattan to see the new exhibit “Andy Warhol- From A to B and Back Again”. It’s a not so hidden treasure that sits on the Hudson River, below the Highline, and neighboring one of the most expensive and vibrant areas of all of Manhattan. Living just a train ride away, on the other side of the East River in Brooklyn, I had been to the Whitney before, but never seen more of Warhol than his most famous works. 

Politics and Prose Review

In a city as bustling as Washington DC, and on a campus as lively as AU, it’s important that young students with a million things to do get ourselves out of the library and exploring the Nation’s Capital. The first coffee house and book store I dared to explore as a freshman, Politics and Prose, is still one of my very favorites a year and a half later. Though my list of coffee shops to visit is about a mile long, Politics and Prose always floats back at the top. 

For-Show Gallery of a Squeezed-Dry Place – “Chinatown”

A For-Show Gallery of a Squeezed-Dry Place – “Chinatown”

The Rise of Death in YA Fantasy

Years back, in our middle school and high school days, dystopian novels were all the rage. The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Matched stormed the shelves of every bookstore. The audience of young book lovers were obsessed with seeing authors create new worlds with governments whose systems eventually lead to its own downfall. At the same time, our own government was and still is going through major change. Our minds swirled with the questions that started with, “what if...”

Exhibition Review: Pulse by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer at the Hirschhorn Museum

Art for all. That is what Rafael Lozano-Hemmer achieves with his new exhibition, Pulse, at the Hirshhorn Museum. Walking into the exhibit, visitors immediately enter a dark room that creates a serious, yet intimate, tone. Pulse begins by outlining what visitors should expect to see and hear as they walk around the exhibit: their own personal data. Additionally, the museum profiles Hemmer and provides information on his artistic background. Born in Mexico, Hemmer is internationally renowned for art that incorporates technology that visualizes human data. The museum goes the extra mile by creating a timeline of the influence of audiovisual and bio-technologies on the art world. This includes John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s song, Baby Heartbeat,  which was built using their unborn son’s heartbeat, and Pink Floyd’s 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon, which ends with a heartbeat. After this introduction, viewers are left to explore the exhibit with no additional direction. 

Review: Jane Eyre, a Comedy? I Think YES

I am sure many people were forced to read Jane Eyre as a teenager, whether it be in high school English class or a college course. Most people view it as a romance novel, some hailing it as the greatest romance novel of all time. I am sure when Brontë wrote this novel in the Victorian Era, it was reasonably romantic, but in today’s standards…not so much. I see it as a comedy.

The Balance Beam of the Self in Tiana Clark’s Equilibrium

Review: The Carrying by Ada Limón

Book Review: S*PeRM**K*T by Harryette Mullen

Poetry in Islam: Ibtisam Barakat review

Islamic literature is deeply woven in long histories of spirituality and ideology for those who follow its faith. There exists an incessant misconception that Muhammad, and the Quran in entirety, disregard poetry as empty words. This claim commonly arises at the reading of Chapter 26 of the Quran (ash-Shu'ara), which writes, “And the Poets, it is those straying in Evil who follow them: Seest thou not that they wander distracted in every valley?/And that they say what they practice not?” To read this passage as a complete repulsion of poetry is to misinterpret the beliefs of Islam. Poetry that is inspiring, nuanced, and rich is celebrated in Islam- it is the poetry that makes a mockery of its own art that is denounced. The Quran holds art in great respect.

An Interview with Dr. Alida Anderson: How the Arts Empower Those with Disabilities

Dear all,

Book Review: Flux by Orion Carloto

Book Review: Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong

Don’t be afraid, the gunfire 

Location Review: Dupont Farmers Market

Review: Brilliant Psychologically Damaging Comedian on The Rise

The comedian Daniel Sloss is honestly kind of life changing. He was one of the first comedians I started to watch as I tried to cut back on media. He has a Netflix special called Daniel Sloss: Live Shows that contains two episodes: “Jigsaw” and “Dark.” The bit I want to focus on is “Jigsaw.” It gets you thinking about what your end goal is in life, and how we should treat ourselves in our relationships. This episode showcases his very dark humor. He covers a broad range of topics from tripping children to the meaning of life. His jokes are funny and current: “Facebook vegans are to veganism what ISIS are to Islam: a small but loud and persistent minority who missed the point of the original peaceful message and now for some reason are choosing to take it out on bacon.” 

A Review of Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children's Literature as an Adult by Bruce Handy

For as long as I can remember, I have always been a voracious reader. At two years old, I would dump out the big wicker basket that held my picture book collection, crawl inside, and read until I made it through all of my favorites: the entirety of the Berenstain Bearsseries, my worn copy of Crockett Johnson’s Harold and the Purple Crayon, Sarah Stewart’s The Library, Yoshiko Uchida’s The Bracelet, and Jane Yolen’s Owl Moon, to name a few. Many of these books I read several times in one sitting. 

ZHU & A Psychedelic Journey Through Ringo’s Desert

If you’ve never heard of him, ZHU is the stage name of Steven Zhu, an American DJ, singer, producer, and multi-­instrumentalist. His music is hard to pigeonhole, since it sits in the pocket of a growing—albeit paradoxical—genre: electronic dance music (EDM) with an artful nod. In general, EDM is designed for people in clubs to bounce mindlessly to while touching a dozen strangers and sweating enough to ruin their shirts forever—not exactly a challenging listen. Art­-pop, on the other hand, has the opposite connotation; it’s shrill, over intellectual, and most damning of all, not danceable. However, ZHU’s music breaks down the wall between mind-bending prog­pop and the catchy EDM we all love to mosh to. All that to say—compounded by the rave reviews I’d heard from friends regarding ZHU’s live show—I was biting my nails in anticipation of his concert in DC.

Review: My Love Letter for To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before

Let me start by talking about the aesthetics. I was infatuated by the color palette and compositions of the shots in this film. There was an overwhelming sense of balance in each frame. Most of them were center composed— especially the scenes that focused on individuals. Characters, especially main characters, were almost always center composed. There were a couple scenes, usually involving action, in bird’s eye perspective. I found that this added movement to the film. It took to viewer to a new angle, which made it feel alive.