Lewis Whittington

Philadelphia

Journalist at Freelance

Writer at CultureVulture.net

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Articles

Jesus Wept

1 week ago | culturevulture.net | Lewis Whittington

The hit film ‘Conclave’ is a dramatization of Vatican politics as the college of cardinals (Curia) are tasked with electing a pope. Philip Shenon’s ‘Jesus Wept,’ a sprawling history of the last seven popes, needs no dramatization, the facts are compelling enough and his book clips along at the pace of a Le Carré thriller. The book track the pontiff early careers as clergymen and the success and failures of their papacies starting with Pius XII (1939-1958), through pope Francis’ (2013-2025).
The Man Nobody Killed

3 weeks ago | culturevulture.net | Lewis Whittington

In the 80s, New York’s East Village was again the locus of an art renaissance with a cadre of Warhol disciples creating a vibrant new scene in the louche dance clubs, abandoned buildings and on the streets. Keith Haring’s radiant child graffiti and Jean-Michel Basquiat’ SAMO public art was famous even before it was co-opted by galleries worldwide. 27 year old Michael Stewart, a graffiti artist/deejay/dancer fashion model was similarly poised for such success.
Open Heaven

1 month ago | culturevulture.net | Lewis Whittington

Sean Hewitt is the award-winning Irish poet author of the Laural Award winning collection “Tongues of Fire” as well as a biographer (J.M. Synge) His 2022 memoir “All Down Darkness Wide” is quite possibly destined to be considered a classic of GLBTQ literature. It is a self-portrait of his relationship and passionately rough breakup with his boyfriend Elias who was suffering from a mental illness and addiction.
YOKO: a biography

1 month ago | culturevulture.net | Lewis Whittington

At age 92, Yoko Ono has for decades been a celebrated artist with art installations and performances in galleries and theaters all over the world. Even songs from Ono’s reviled Plastic Ono Band albums from the 70s have been recycled by millennial bands collaborating with Ono and are dance club hits. Yet Ono is still remembered some as the woman who broke up the Beatles.
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This

2 months ago | culturevulture.net | Omar El Akkad |Lewis Whittington

“One day, when it’s safe, when there’s no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it’s too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.” This was a tweet sent out by journalist Omar El Akkad reporting from Gaza last year – a prediction that was viewed 10 million+ times.
How Sondheim Can Change Your Life

Feb 25, 2025 | culturevulture.net | Richard Schoch |Lewis Whittington

Want to find out why you do the things you do but don’t want to see a psychologist, how about seeing a Sondheim musical instead? Richard Schoch delves into the life lessons built into his shows in ‘How Stephen Sondheim Can Change Your Life.’ Schoch’s thesis might sound like a stretch but it isn’t, think of it as a musical-theater equivalent of sports metaphors or even Socrates, in fact a funny thing happen on the way to this book forum and it was a lot of fun.
Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology

Feb 6, 2025 | culturevulture.net | Lewis Whittington

The Library of America’s ‘African American Poetry: 250 years of Struggle and Song’ is stunning in its historic and literary scope and the same is true of LOA’s ‘Latino Poetry’ an anthology that brings together the voices of 168 poets going back four centuries, across continents, cultures, and poetic legacy of the Latin diaspora.
Stranger Than Fiction

Jan 19, 2025 | culturevulture.net | Edwin Frank |Lewis Whittington

‘Stranger Than Fiction’ is Edwin Frank’s vigorous study of the evolution of the 20th century novel and the novelists who redirected the genre and its agency with readers navigating a brave and daunting world. Frank is Editorial Director of New York Review Books and has the inside track(at times too inside) and ‘Stranger Than Fiction’ is, indeed, a sweaty and heady dose of comparative literature.
John Lewis A Life

Jan 12, 2025 | culturevulture.net | Lewis Whittington

David Greenberg’s new biography of John Lewis includes a photograph of the Congressman at age 80, on site at the Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington DC in 2020. It was the summer of George Floyd’s murders and the onslaught of Covid-19. Lewis wore a mask and a cap with ‘1619 – 400 yrs’ signage referencing America’s slave-trading past. Lewis died just weeks after the photograph was taken.
Roman Year

Oct 27, 2024 | culturevulture.net | Lewis Whittington

André Aciman’s ‘Out of Egypt’ made his reputation when it was published in 1995 and he followed it up with a slate of critically acclaimed nonfiction and fiction titles, his most famous being ‘Call Me By Your Name’ which was made into a hit movie, directed by Luca Guadagnino, with screenplay by filmmaker James Ivory. As admirable as the film is, it doesn’t really convey the richness of Aciman’s prose.