'Even as a bird...'

Detail from print of the drowned Leander in the arms of Hero

'His admiring eyes more pleasure took...'

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# Archaelogies of the Future. The Desire called Utopia by Frederic Jameson

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I read this Fredric Jameson 's book six months ago, and I don't know why I forgot to post a small article about it since I have been extremely interested by its content at that time... First of all I love absolutely the name of this book. Archaelogies of the Future. The Desire called Utopia . This second sentence is pretty much my own definition of Utopia that I am always comparing to the horizon, something to aim to without being ever able to reach it. This essay explores the notion of utopia through More and Marx, but more essentially through science fiction novels. The chapter about Stanislaw Lem 's literature is particularly interesting in its illustration of an attempt to describe the un-imaginable. The book has also been translated in French .
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Composers Datebook for November 21, 2011

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      SPONSOR Produced in association with the American Composers Forum Monday, November 21 Play today's show | How to listen Hindemith in E-flat (and in Minneapolis) On today's date in 1941, the famous Greek-born conductor, Dimitri Mitropoulos, led the Minneapolis Symphony in the premiere performance of a new symphony by the German composer, Paul Hindemith, who came to Minnesota for the performance. Mitropoulos was an ardent promoter of new music, but few of the contemporary works he programmed were welcomed by audiences or the critics with much enthusiasm. Hindemith's reputation as an atonal composer had preceded him, but, surprisingly, his new piece for Minneapolis was billed as a "Symphony in Eb Major" and, much to the delight of all concerned, featured recognizable tunes. "His themes were melodious, instantly recognizable and easily followed," wrote the critic of the Minneapolis Tribune, concluding, "It was mar...
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Composers Datebook for November 8, 2001

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      SPONSOR Produced in association with the American Composers Forum Tuesday, November 8 Play today's show | How to listen Schumann and Zaimont On today's date in 1830, an 11-year old piano virtuoso, named Clara Wieck, took the stage of the Leipzig Gewandhaus for her first solo recital. Her father was a piano teacher, who had groomed Clara for a solo career since infancy. This was the age of the great composer-pianists, Franz Liszt and Frederic Chopin, and little Clara also wrote original works for her own use. Clara's Op. 1, a set of four Polonaises, was published the following year. In 1840, over her father's strenuous objections, Clara eventually married composer Robert Schumann, a handsome young man who had moved into the Wieck household as a border just a month before Clara's 1830 Leipzig debut. Clara's own career as a composer and performer would eventually span five decades, and, like her father, she became one of the mo...
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