Mid-Week Libation: Love Takes Off the Masks
Lady Blackbird live in concert, wisdom from James Baldwin, a new cinematic sub-genre for film noir buffs, a celebration of poet Nancy Morejón, R&R's newest playlist, and a luscious French Viognier!
Mid-Week Libation is our weekly curated splash of inspiration and culture!
Searching for Summer Viewing Options? Check Out Our New Favorite Cinematic Sub-Genre: Vacation Noir! (New Addition to The Criterion Channel)
Need an escape to the beach or the desert without leaving the comfort of your air-conditioned home? This week, the R&R household is loving the newest curated collection on The Criterion Channel! Titled “Vacation Noir,” the collection spotlights steamy, sweltering noir thrillers set in sunny and bright locales, featuring the most glamorous stars in menacing situations:
Gene Tierney in Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
Joan Crawford in Female on the Beach (1955)
Lizabeth Scott in Desert Fury (1947)
Jane Russell in His Kind of Woman (1951)
Rita Hayworth in The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
Alain Delon (swoon!) in Purple Noon (1960) and La Piscine (1969)
Vacation Noir - a new curated collection on The Criterion Channel
Sign up for a 7-day free trial of The Criterion Channel here!
Dark Summer: Why Film Noirs Often Work Better in the Sunshine (via The Guardian)
R&R’s Newest Playlist: At the Dawning of the Sun (featuring Carole King, Cyndi Lauper, Joni Mitchell, Annie Lennox, Bill Withers, Tracy Chapman & More!)
Happy 80th Birthday to Poet Nancy Morejón! (born August 7, 1944)
“Meet Nancy Morejon, the best-known and most widely translated female Cuban poet of the last 70 years. Elaine Reyes explores her journey, achievements, and the profound impact of her poetry reflecting her African heritage.” [Source]
Read Four Poems by Nancy Morejón (via Bomb Magazine)
In Defense of Cuban Poetry: Three Poems by Nancy Morejón (via Capire)
Nancy Morejón reading “Mujer Negra,” 2014 in San Francisco (via The Poetry Center)
Wildstar’s Wednesday Wine Pick: Francois Villard, Les Contours de Deponcins Viognier (IGP Collines Rhodaniennes, France)
Concert of the Week: Lady Blackbird Live | Leverkusener Jazztage 2022 | Jazzline
AMAZING performance! This incredible concert, which was professionally filmed for a livestream in 2022, popped up on our Youtube feed this week. And we were so blown away that we had to share. Lady Blackbird, aka “the Grace Jones of jazz,” is one of our favorite singers and songwriters of the moment, and this dynamic set shows why. (We also can’t wait for her upcoming new album, Slang Spirituals, on September 13th! Preorder here!)
Official Site of Lady Blackbird / Instagram / Upcoming Tour Dates!
Purchase or Listen to Black Acid Soul (multiple platforms)
Preorder or pre-save Slang Spirituals (multiple platforms)
Interesting Artists Born Today: August 7th
Visual Artists:
Today is the birthday of Henriette Lorimier, Emma Thomsen, Hermione von Preuschen, Rudolf Eickemeyer, Henri Le Sidaner, Josephine Crease, Dora Meeson, Abanindranath Tagore, Nikolai Triik, Cornelia Van Auken Chapin, Maria Martins, Adaline Kent, Macena Barton, Albert Kotin, Lucien Hervé, Walter Sheffer, Ernest Withers, Adolfo Mexiac, Owen Luder, Jo Baer, Togrul Narimanbekov, Rien Poortvliet, Jim Alexander, Tony Berlant, Mark Bagley, Zheng Lianjie, Tim Shaw and Jim Chuchu!
Writers, Philosophers & Scholars:
Today is the birthday of Sarah Savage, Charles Warren Stoddard, Alice James, Alan Leo, Anna Elisabet Weirauch, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, Louis Leakey, Ralph Bunche, Ryōtarō Shiba, Larry Eigner, Betsy Byars, Nancy Morejón, T. R. Hummer, Anne Fadiman, Martín Espada, Paul Dini, Deborah Ellis, Cathy Park Hong and Yun Hyon-seok!
Musicians & Composers:
Today is the birthday of Faustina Hasse Hodges, Luckey Roberts, Saburō Moroi, George Van Eps, Mose Vinson, Manitas de Plata, Karel Husa, Idrees Sulieman, Julián Orbón, Felice Bryant, Herb Reed, Veljo Tormis, Luther Dixon, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, George Bohanon, Magic Slim, Ron Holden, Howard Johnson, Caetano Veloso, Nuno Mindelis, Carlos Vives, Alison Brown, Marcus Roberts, Bassekou Kouyate and Immanuel Wilkins!
Film/TV/Stage:
Today is the birthday of Billie Burke, Renie Riano, Yuliya Solntseva, Nicholas Ray, Kermit Love, James Randi, Romeo Muller, John Glover, William Stanford Davis, Lesley Nicol, David Duchovny, Harold Perrineau, David Mann, Francesca Gregorini, Michael Shannon, Charlize Theron, Deeyah Khan, Alexandre Aja, Cirroc Lofton, Abbie Cornish, Brit Marling and Miss Fiercalicious!
This Week’s Words of Wisdom: James Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987)
But, what about Celia Cruz???