Latest news with #VirginiaWoolf
The Spinoff
21 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
The Friday Poem: ‘Then Worse' by Jordan Irvine
A new poem by Jordan Irvine. Then Worse Man stood over the bridge like That's it Rocks stand scared stiff and water says Excuse me Drug dealers on scooters Polite men turn to looters Got a sentence longer than Virginia Woolf's Look at the clock Chop chop I got places to be Wide eyed This my first time in the casino I stay in the corner like the sun in kids drawings A sparrow with vulture intentions Set my boundaries like tape when painting I'm more blessed than a sneeze in church She treats me like I'm God Then worse
Vogue
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue
An Ode to Carrie Bradshaw's Laptop, My Favorite Sex and the City Character
Over the years, Carrie at her laptop—mostly typing some version of the phrase 'And I couldn't help but wonder…'—has become such an enduring image that it is, at this point, a widely shared meme. In And Just Like That, she does slightly less wondering—she's a wannabe fiction writer now, as opposed to a sex columnist—but the typing is no less prominent. These days, however, there are even more intriguing elements to her famed laptop bashing, such as the fact she uses Pages over Google Docs (she has apparently learned nothing since the classic SATC Season 4 episode 'My Motherboard, My Self' in which she loses all her work after her computer crashes) and also the fact that she clings onto such an old piece of technology. But anyway, I digress. Writing as a practice has been romanticized for a long time. But when we think of classic images of 'writing,' we generally don't think of having our faces inches from a laptop screen while at a desk or cross-legged in bed. Instead, we think of Joan Didion surrounded by books beside her typewriter, or Patti Smith scrawling in a leather-bound notebook, or Virginia Woolf writing letters to Vita Sackville-West in her spidery slanted script. But Carrie Bradshaw? Though fictional, Carrie was possibly the first—and only—person to make laptop writing look cool and semi-glamorous, and for that I can only thank her (with my tired fingers). I will probably never feel chic while hunched over a laptop on a deadline while it's sunny outside. And there's nothing glam about firing off emails at 5 p.m., regardless of who they're to. Still, during those Friday nights in which I'm thwacking a keyboard instead of enjoying my social life like a regular person, or those times in which I'm practically glued to the screen all day as if my laptop is another limb, I can't help but think (or wonder) of Carrie Bradshaw and feel marginally better about having not picked up an actual pen in months.
Business Insider
7 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Business Insider
I've been waking up before 3 a.m. for 30 years. I love my solo time, and my morning routine sets me up for a good day.
For the last 30 years, my body has been waking up between 2:15 to 3 a.m. At first, I thought getting up so early was due to jet lag from a trip to the Middle East. Then I decided it was peri-menopause, but whatever the cause, it never stopped. Thanks to the fact that I've never had a day job and always worked for myself (a fact I'm very proud of), this has never been a problem. I just go to bed early, between 8 and 8:30 p.m. This pre-dawn time is my solo sanctuary. I belong in the club with such creative heavyweights as Virginia Woolf, Georgia O'Keeffe, Ernest Hemingway, and Emily Dickinson, for whom the early hours were the most creative time of the day. I have an early-morning routine, and I stick to it First, I soak in our hot tub, sliding around in the silky, amniotic waters, letting the limbic phase between sleep and wakefulness ease any creakiness in my back. Occasionally, I get lucky, glimpsing the mama raccoon that hangs out with her babies in the crevice between our home and the next house. She peeks around the edge of the building, peering at me with bright, piercing eyes. Then it's time to get serious: coffee! After that, I read (books, news, and blogs), work on essays (like this one!), do the NYT Spelling Bee puzzle, do yoga or Pilates, and journal, a habit I've had since I was 9 years old. Waking up early means I have time to myself When my husband, Barry, and I first lived together, I was a budding writer, so I insisted on having my own room to work in. Barry supported this, but it turned out he wanted a space of his own, too. (The nerve!) Since we couldn't afford a larger apartment, we decided to sacrifice the bedroom so we could each have our private space. Every night, we unrolled our foam mattress onto the carpet in a corner of the living room and made the bed, reversing the process in the morning. During the six months we lived in that apartment, I sold every article I wrote. Looking back, I don't believe I'd have been as successful had I squeezed my desk into the bedroom. Though we haven't always been able to keep the practice of having our own defined rooms, over the years and in different homes we've lived in, we've still found ways to take space for ourselves, whether that's an entire office, an alcove, or a corner. Because our current apartment is small, our "rooms" take the form not of a physical space but of time we get to ourselves. Just as I have my pre-dawn hours, Barry has his late-night time. Our different cadences give us a healthy daily break from each other. By allowing myself to wake up when my body wants to, I feel happier When people ask me how I can get up so early, I explain that it's not my choice so much as my innate biorhythm. A person's sleep schedule preference is closely tied to their circadian rhythms, the natural physical process that follows a similar cycle every 24 hours. I used to worry that I wasn't getting enough quality REM rest, but my sleep pattern doesn't affect my energy level during the day, especially because Barry and I have a cozy lie-down on our sofa almost every afternoon, one of my favorite times of the day. I'm fortunate to be an early riser, perky even at 3 a.m., because much of the world, and certainly the US, isn't set up for night owls. Plus, some studies show that people who wake earlier are far less likely to develop depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders, probably because early risers have more access to daylight, a natural mood booster. My quiet time in the early morning hush lingers with me all day long. Whatever challenges I face, I can always rely on the sweetness of my solo sanctuary to anchor me.
Chicago Tribune
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Amy Morton is back on stage in ‘You Will Get Sick' at Steppenwolf Theatre. What took her so long?
Few actors in Chicago theater history command the respect afforded to Amy Morton. Her history goes back to the long-defunct Remains Theatre but is dominated by her decades of work with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, including playing Nurse Ratched in 2000 in Chicago and then on Broadway in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' opposite Gary Sinise; the lead role of Barbara in Tracy Letts' 'August: Osage County,' which played from 2007 to 2009 in Chicago, London, Sydney and on Broadway; and a stunning performances as Martha in a revival of Edward Albee's 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' in Chicago and on Broadway between 2010 and 2013. But for more than a decade, Morton, 66, has mostly been found behind a desk on the long-running Dick Wolf TV show 'Chicago P.D.,' playing desk sergeant Trudy Platt. Morton spoke this week at the Steppenwolf Theatre, where she returns to the stage in 'You Will Get Sick' by Noah Diaz, a play about a young man and his caretaker, opening Sunday night in a production directed by Audrey Francis. Our conversation has been edited for clarity and length. Q: How long has it been? 'Hir' was the last one. I don't do years very well but it has been at least eight years. Q: Why has it taken so long to return? Being on the TV show, our hiatus allows only one little space of time to do a play. So it has to be something I really want to do. I read this and was very intrigued by it, and with Audrey directing, it was a no-brainer. Q: You've been on 'Chicago P.D.' for 11 years. But a lot of people reading this story, with all due respect, perhaps don't watch that show. I understand. Q: So where does that fit in the Amy Morton career arc at this point? It came along at such a fortuitous moment. I had done 'August' and 'Virginia Woolf' back to back. The whole odyssey started in 2007 and I wasn't finished until 2014. Both of the characters I was playing walked onto the stage in bad place and it just got worse. For three acts. And by the end of 'Virginia Woolf,' I said, I can't go back on stage. Living that. What it does to the psyche and the soul. I just couldn't do it anymore. So I did not know what I was going to do and then I got this job. I was, and still am, so incredibly grateful that this happened. There was no way I could have gone back on stage. It was just broken. It was just broken for a while. Q: The break came from doing two such devastating plays? Yes. Back to back. It was too much. Q: But if someone had said after that, 'Play this beautifully affirming character in this beautifully affirming play'? I couldn't do eight shows a week. It all felt too brutal. My body, my everything was just done for a while. So getting this job was the best thing that could have happened to me. I love the crew and the cast. I have had a job for this long in my home town that has allowed me not to worry about money. I feel like the luckiest person in the world and I can understand why anyone would hate me. Q: But you're a remarkable artist. I understand you needed a break. But has Sgt. Platt been able to sustain your artistic soul? Not necessarily. But I've been able to do some movies on the side and be a guest artist on 'The Bear.' But also, understand that I'm older now. I don't have the same ambition. I really don't. I remember in my younger days when actors would talk about retiring, I'd say that's insane, actors don't retire. But I don't believe that anymore. I could see myself retiring. And I really don't need to constantly be pursuing a different character all the time. And the great thing for me is that this character on the TV show from the beginning has been very interesting to play. Q: How so? For the first four years, she was such a smartass, it was so much fun. You couldn't tell if she was evil or not and then the show got more serious and she went into a more serious vein and you see a bit less of me. Which is fine. Remember I am working with people who are appearing in every episode, , running after people with a . I am hardly ever outside. I wear the same costume. It's manna from heaven. When other actors are asked which role they wished they could play, they all want to be Platt. I am loath to use the words 'mama bear,' because it is so misogynistic, but she holds the front desk together and is constantly bolstering the team and has inside info into the lead characters. Q: And you like the writing? Yes. I've never had to do anything embarrassing. A lot of people on TV have to do embarrassing things. Not me. Q: So let's get to this play. Why come back with this? Firstly, it's really funny. That was the first thing that peaked my interest. Q: Because you are known for that. I'm not going to be headed back into 'Virginia Woolf' land anytime soon. Also, it's alarmingly moving and very beautiful and I love working with Audrey. She's a really fine director and I was excited to be able to do this with her. She was once was a student of mine and I love that she now is my boss. Q: I have to go back to what you said earlier. What if someone made the argument that an actor should be able to leave those characters at the office? Is there something in you that did not permit you to do that? Your body doesn't know you are lying. So your entire body becomes a giant carpal tunnel. Yes, I could leave it the office, but you hit two in the afternoon or so and your entire being starts to prepare yourself, even without your knowing. To do this job well, in my opinion, there are places that you need to go with those characters that are not fun. It doesn't mean that I stayed in them all night. But those runs were so (expletive) long and plays have a shelf life for a reason.
Washington Post
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
‘Days of Light' dramatizes life within the Bloomsbury Group
A century ago, a young woman named Angelica Bell was growing up within the artistic Bloomsbury Group in Britain. For novelist Megan Hunter's third book, 'Days of Light,' the author borrows some, although not all, of the odd circumstances of Bell's coming of age, while also emulating the literary style of Bell's aunt, the novelist and Bloomsbury luminary Virginia Woolf.
