Posts Tagged Criticism
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February 22, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
Sweetman Podcast: Episode 104 – Megan Dunn
Welcome to episode 104 of Sweetman Podcast with support from our sponsors – T Leaf T, Yeastie Boys and Le Petite Chocolat. I had a chat with Megan Dunn – she’s an artist, art-critic and writer. She’s recently released the book Tinderbox – which I loved. I contacted Megan for a chat because I’d enjoyed some of the press and interviews around Tinderbox […]Archive
June 2, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
Sweetman Podcast: Episode 66 – Danny Mulheron
Welcome to episode 66 of Sweetman Podcast with support from our sponsors – T Leaf T, Yeastie Boys and Le Petite Chocolat. This conversation is me chatting with the actor, writer, director Danny Mulheron. I hadn’t met Danny until he bounded in through the doorway, found the piano in our house and started hitting the […]Archive
March 15, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
Music Matters: There’s More To Life Than Music…But Life Always Needs A Soundtrack…
Someone once asked me to write an answer to this question: “Why does music matter?” And I wrote back straight away, semi-facetiously, “It doesn’t – that’s the beauty of it. Next…” I wasn’t trying to belittle a valid question. And I was only part-joking. I often think of a great quote by one of my […]Archive
November 12, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
The Heckling Cries of Unloved and Unlovable Critics: Not Everyone That Hates Your Work Is A Troll
I was recently reminded of the documentary Heckler. I quite enjoyed it – parts of it at least. But I also thought it was rubbish. The start was promising: vintage footage of Bill Hicks chewing out an unfunny heckler, a story of a comedian being punched by an audience member he challenged to take the […]Archive
October 29, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
The Good And Bad Reviews Are Equal: It Is All Just Opinion After All
Earlier this year I spoke with a journalism class – the subject: reviews, reviewing… I’ve given talks on this topic before. It usually goes much the same way: potted history of my life and work. How I got into this. A bit of a discussion around what is required of a review, how to do […]Archive
October 10, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
Clive James: Play All – A Bingewatcher’s Notebook
Play All: A Bingewatcher’s Notebook Clive James Yale University Press Writing about television isn’t easy – it’s easier now because TV is better: more people are invested in shows that have our attention in a way the movies used to. It’s easier now too because of Clive James. He’s left his mark on poetry and […]Archive
June 20, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
Writers on Mondays: July-September 2016
Once again the popular Writers on Mondays sessions by Victoria Univeristy’s International Institute of Modern Letters will take place at Wellington’s Te Papa Museum (Level 4, Te Marae) from 12.15-1.15pm on Mondays from July 11 to September 26. The sessions are free and will feature writers in conversation discussing upcoming and already published works. It’s […]Archive
May 14, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
A.O. Scott: Better Living Through Criticism
Better Living Through Criticism: How to Think about Art, Pleasure, Beauty, and Truth A.O. Scott Penguin Press It’s a good idea, and worth it because A.O. Scott is a good writer, a good critic – worth reading (film critic for the New York Times) and because, hopefully, you believe/in the subject. But it’s odd because […]Archive
November 20, 2015 by Simon Sweetman
Five Films That Stay With Me: Gregory O’Brien
Wellington-based, Gregory O’Brien is a full-time poet, artist, essayist, curator and cultural odd-jobs-man. Recent books include a monograph on Pat Hanly and a collection of poems, Beauties of the Octagonal Pool. His book length essay News of the Swimmer Reaches Shore (2007) was propelled into being by a strict diet of Fred Frith, The Necks, Olivier […]Archive
October 20, 2015 by Simon Sweetman
Sweetman Podcast: Episode 9 – Matthew Couper
Here’s episode nine of Sweetman Podcast now – my chat with Matthew Couper. Matt’s an artist, Hawke’s Bay born, now Las Vegas based. Matt’s also my oldest friend, in that we’ve known each other since we were three. We went through kindergarten, primary, intermediate and high school along the same strip in Havelock North.Archive
December 14, 2014 by Simon Sweetman