Connect with us

Lifestyle

Courtney B. Vance to narrate audio edition of prize-winning W.E.B. Du Bois biography

Published

on


NEW YORK (AP) — Award-winning actor Courtney B. Vance will be narrating the first ever-audio edition of one of the most acclaimed literary biographies of the past 30 years, David Levering Lewis’ two-volume work on the scholar, author and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois.

The first volume is scheduled for June 17.

“As a lover of history, I was drawn to W.E.B. Du Bois’s award-winning biography,” Vance said in a statement released Wednesday by Simon & Schuster Audio. “Having the chance to reintroduce his legacy to audiophiles by narrating his life story has been an honor and true passion project for me.”

Lewis received Pulitzer Prizes for each of his Du Bois books: “W.E.B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868–1919,” published in 1993, and “W. E. B. Du Bois: The Fight for Equality and the American Century, 1919–1963,” which came out in 2000. The historian said in a statement that he was gratified to have his books available in audio.

“I can hardly believe this has come to pass,” he said. “Listen to Courtney B. Vance and you shall hear the spoken wisdom of an American colossus, a prophetic man of color in whose 95 years all intellectual, political, economic, and racial choices were profoundly explored.”



Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Lifestyle

Armani’s global aesthetic shines in bohemian Emporio Armani show, though designer misses Milan bow

Published

on


MILAN (AP) — Giorgio Armani’s admiration for other cultures and global aesthetic was on full display at his latest Emporio Armani show, but the designer himself was notably absent.

Armani, 90, skipped the customary bow at the Emporio Armani menswear preview for Spring-Summer 2026 during Milan Fashion Week on Saturday, as he recovers at home. His fashion house confirmed his convalescence in advance but did not provide details about his condition.

Despite his absence, Armani was deeply involved in shaping the collection, his fashion house said, working closely with Leo Dell’Orco, his longtime menswear director, who took the final bow. Normally, Armani would have posed with the models at the end of the show — another signature moment missing.

Bohemian cool for the world traveler

The Emporio Armani collection carried a free-spirited, Bohemian air — a vision for the youthful adventurer who balances comfort with style, ornament with utility. Models sported braids or silver beads in their hair, and layered accessories: beaded necklaces, charms, tassels, and fringes.

Jackets ranged from softly tailored with sweeping scarf collars — ideal for wind and sun protection — to intricately detailed styles with feather-light touches or loose weaves.

Giorgio Armani gestures at the end of the Giorgio Armani Prive Haute Couture Spring Summer 2025 collection in Paris, on Jan. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, File).

Crafted textures and nomadic vibes

Natural fabrics like crepe and linen, often left rough to the touch, contrasted with silky prints inspired by Moroccan mosaics. Trousers varied from gently pleated to dramatically ballooned, paired with long, embroidered tunics.

The traveler’s ensemble was completed with crossbody bags, tapestry duffels, vintage-style suitcases, woven slippers, and straw hats worn low over the eyes, conjuring the image of a man journeying through sun-soaked lands.

A sporty take on desert looks

For the EA7 Emporio Armani line — his sporty offshoot — Armani leaned into more technical textiles. A desert-inspired capsule collection played out against a soundtrack of howling wind, echoing the stark and elemental feel of the clothes as the models strode through the showroom, which was decorated with sheer curtains.

A tribute to Armani’s aesthetic origins

The show notes described the collection as “a moment of introspection and identity. Not to pause in contemplation, but to channel new energy into moving forward, while conscious of one’s own origins.”

Armani returns to “shapes and attitudes that have always been present, returning to a founding principle of his aesthetic: A genuine interest in other cultures,’’ the notes said.

Front-row guests included Olympic champion sprinter Marcell Jacobs, actors André Lamoglia, from the Netflix series “Elite,” and Michael Cooper Jr., currently starring in the Netflix series “Forever,’’ and NBA players Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers and Anthony Black of the Orlando Magic.



Source link

Continue Reading

Lifestyle

Greenland celebrates its National Day to mark the summer solstice

Published

on


NUUK, Greenland (AP) — Greenlanders celebrated National Day, the Arctic island’s biggest summer festival, on Saturday to mark the solstice with songs, cannon salutes and dances under 24 hours of sunlight.

Revelers across the semi-autonomous Danish territory, which is also coveted by U.S. President Donald Trump, honored the longest day of the year north of the equator, where the solstice marks the start of astronomical summer, with a march through their hometowns waving flags and participating in a seal hunting competition.

The national holiday was declared in 1985, following a referendum on home rule six years earlier, with the inaugural raising of the red-and-white Greenlandic flag. As the sun came out, locals gathered for the day of festivities, visiting friends and families, eating and dancing together.

Greenland’s roughly 56,000 inhabitants look forward to the midnight sun each year from May 25 to July 25, before the long, dark winter reappears.

The strategic, mineral-rich island has made headlines after Trump declared it his mission to make it part of the U.S., saying it’s crucial for American security in the high north.

Trump has not ruled out military force to seize Greenland despite strong rebukes from Denmark, a NATO ally, and Greenland itself. Danish and Greenlandic leaders say the island is not for sale and have condemned reports of the U.S. stepping up intelligence gathering there.

On Saturday, Greenlanders tried to leave politics behind to enjoy the seemingly endless summer sunshine.

Locals in traditional clothing made of pearl collars and seal hides started the day by marching toward the Colonial Harbour with Greenland’s national flags.

Johannes Ostermann, 20, said he loved the holiday because “you get to go out in the city and you get to meet the people you haven’t met in a while, and you know they’re going to be there because it’s a big day for Greenland and we enjoy each other’s company.”

“Everyone says congratulations to each other, everyone’s saying hi, everyone’s being very very nice because it is a very nice day for us all,” he added.

At 9 a.m., a cannon salute marked the beginning of the annual seal hunting competition, with participants in boats rushing into the sea.

It took about an hour for the first hunter to come back with the seal. The animal was cut open for an inspection. The organizer said the meat will be distributed to nursing homes, and all other parts will be used to make clothing.

Pilo Samuelsen, one of the winners of the competition, enjoyed his victory and the fact that the holiday brings together the community and keeps their culture alive.

“The seal hunt competition is a nice tradition,” Samuelsen said. “It’s a day of unity and the celebration.”

Sofie Abelsen, 33, said she hoped her people would continue their celebrations because “modernization and globalization is a danger to all Indigenous people and Indigenous countries.”

“So I hope they will continue the traditions … so they don’t disappear,” she added.



Source link

Continue Reading

Lifestyle

Stonehenge solstice sunrise draws druids, pagans and revelers

Published

on


LONDON (AP) — As the sun rose Saturday on the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, a crowd erupted in cheers at Stonehenge where the ancient monument in southern England has clocked the summer solstice over thousands of years.

The orange ball crested the northeast horizon behind the Heel Stone, the entrance to the stone circle, and shone its beam of light into the center of one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments. The solstice is one of the few occasions each year when visitors are allowed to walk among the stones, which are otherwise fenced off.

The crowd gathered before dawn at the World Heritage Site to mark the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, beating the heat during the U.K.’s first amber heat-health alert issued since September 2023. Temperatures later topped 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in Surrey, 80 miles (128 kilometers) east of Stonehenge, the hottest temperature recorded in the U.K. so far this year.

About 25,000 sun devotees and other revelers, including druids, pagans, hippies, locals and tourists, showed up, according to English Heritage which operates the site. More than 400,000 others around the world watched a livestream.

“This morning was a joyous and peaceful occasion with the most beautiful sunrise,” said Richard Dewdney, head of operations at Stonehenge. “It is fantastic to see Stonehenge continuing to enchant and connect people.”

Stonehenge was built in stages 5,000 years ago on the flat lands of Salisbury Plain approximately 75 miles (120 kilometers) southwest of London. The unique stone circle was erected in the late Neolithic period about 2,500 B.C.

Some of the so-called bluestones are known to have come from the Preseli Hills in southwest Wales, nearly 150 miles (240 kilometers) away, and the altar stone was recently discovered to have come from northern Scotland, some 460 miles (740 kilometers) away.

The site’s meaning has been vigorously debated. Theories range from it being a coronation place for Danish kings, a druid temple, a cult center for healing, or an astronomical computer for predicting eclipses and solar events.

The most generally accepted interpretation is that it was a temple aligned with movements of the sun — lining up perfectly with the summer and winter solstices.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending