NEW YORK —Paul Auster, a prolific, award-winning writer and director known for creative tales and meta-narratives such as “The New York Trilogy” and “4 3 2 1,” died at the age of 77.

The Carol Mann Agency, Auster’s literary representatives, announced his death on Wednesday but did not immediately disclose any other information. Auster was diagnosed with cancer in 2022.

Auster wrote over 30 books, which have been translated into dozens of languages, beginning in the 1970s. He was a longtime fixture in the Brooklyn literary scene but has yet to achieve major commercial success in the United States. However, he was widely admired overseas for his cosmopolitan worldview and erudite and reflective style, and the French government named him a chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters in 1991. He was also shortlisted for the Booker Prize and elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Paul Auster, Prolific And Experimental Man Of Letters And Filmmaker, Dies At 77

Auster, dubbed the “dean of American post-modernists” and “the most meta of American meta-fictional writers,” combined history, politics, genre experiments, existential quests, and self-conscious references to writers and writing. “The New York Trilogy,” which featured “City of Glass,” “Ghosts,” and “The Locked Room,” was a postmodern detective story in which names and identities blurred, and one protagonist was a private investigator named Paul Auster. The brief “Travels in the Scriptorium” tells a story within a story as a political prisoner is forced to read a sequence of narratives by other victims, which will eventually include his own.

The author’s longest and most ambitious work of fiction, “4 3 2 1,” was published in 2017 and was a Booker Prize nominee. The 800-page novel is a story of quadraphonic realism in the post-World War II era, following Archibald Isaac Ferguson’s simultaneous adventures from summer camp and high school baseball to student life in New York and Paris during the major uprisings of the late 1960s.

“Identical but different, meaning four boys with the same name parents, the same bodies, and the same genetic material, but each one living in a different house in a different town with his own set of circumstances,” the author writes. “Each one on his own separate path, and yet all of them still the same person, three imaginary versions of himself, and then himself thrown in as Number Four for good measure; the author of the book.”

His other works included the nonfiction compilations “Groundwork” and “Talking to Strangers”; a family memoir, “The Invention of Solitude”; a biography of novelist Stephen Crane; the novels “Leviathan” and “Talking to Strangers”; and the poetry collection “White Space.” In his most recent novel, “Baumgardner,” the titular character is a widowed professor troubled by mortality and wondering “where his mind will be taking him next.”

Auster was such an old-fashioned novelist that he used a typewriter and disliked email and other Internet communication. However, he had an extraordinarily active film career compared to his writing peers.

In the mid-1990s, Auster worked with filmmaker Wayne Wang on the celebrated art-house film “Smoke,” which was an adaptation of Auster’s funny narrative about a Brooklyn tobacco shop and a customer named Paul. The film stars Harvey Keitel, Stockard Channing, and William Hurt, among others, and earned Auster an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay.

Paul Auster, Prolific And Experimental Man Of Letters And Filmmaker, Dies At 77

Wang and Auster immediately followed up on “Smoke” with “Blue in the Face,” an improvised story set in a Brooklyn cigar shop that starred Keitel and featured appearances by everyone from Lou Reed to Lily Tomlin.

Auster eventually created the films himself. Keitel appeared in Auster’s 1998 love story “Lulu on the Bridge,” which he directed and co-wrote with Vanessa Redgrave. Nine years later, Auster wrote and directed the drama “The Inner Life of Martin Frost,” which starred David Thewlis as an author and Irène Jacob as a lady who has an unusual connection to the story he is writing.

“The four times I’ve worked on movies, I’ve never had a problem talking to actors,” Auster told filmmaker Wim Wenders in a 2017 interview published in Interview magazine. “I was always in excellent harmony with them. After those events, I recognized a connection between creating fiction and acting. The writer does it with words on a page, whereas the actor does so with his body. The effort remains the same.

Auster married fellow author Siri Hustvedt in 1982, and they had a daughter, Sophie, who appears in “The Inner Life of Martin Frost.” He also had a son, Daniel, from his first marriage to the author-translator Lydia Davis. Daniel Auster would suffer from drug addiction and die of an overdose in 2022, shortly after being charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of his young daughter, Ruby.

Paul Auster never publicly discussed his son’s death, but he had written extensively on parenthood. In “The Invention of Solitude,” published in 1982, he reflected on the “thousands of hours” he’d spent with Daniel in the first three years of his life and wondered if they were worthwhile. “It will be lost forever,” Auster wrote. “All these things will vanish for the boy’s memory forever.”

Paul Auster, Prolific And Experimental Man Of Letters And Filmmaker, Dies At 77

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Paul Benjamin Auster grew up in a middle-class Jewish family caught between his father’s thriftiness and miserliness and his mother’s desire to spend to the point of irresponsibility. He would soon feel like an outcast in his family, turned off by their materialism and inspired by James Joyce’s “Ulysses” or Edgar Allan Poe’s stories rather than the stability of a typical employment.

His ideals would be thoroughly tested. After graduating from Columbia University, Auster toiled for years before finding a publisher and making money from his works. He wrote poetry, translated French literature, worked on an oil tanker, tried to sell a baseball board game, and even considered making money by raising worms in his cellar.

“All along, my only ambition had been to write,” Auster wrote in her brief memoir “Hand to Mouth,” released in 1995. “I knew it as early as 16 or 17 years old, and I never misled myself into believing I could make a life from it. Becoming a writer is not a ‘career decision’ like becoming a doctor or a police officer. You don’t select it; you’re picked, and once you realize that you’re not cut out for anything else, you must be prepared to walk a long, hard road for the rest of your life.”

SOURCE – (AP)

LOS ANGELES — Britney Spears and her father Jamie Spears have reached a compromise to resolve the ongoing concerns in the judicial conservatorship that has governed her life and financial choices for almost 14 years. This settlement will prevent a potentially lengthy, unpleasant, and revealing trial.

A scheduled hearing regarding these matters, which included Jamie Spears’ request for a comprehensive ruling to dismiss them, was removed from the court calendar after the judge authorized the settlement on Friday.

Britney And Jamie Spears Settlement Avoids Long, Potentially Ugly And Revealing Trial

Britney Spears was emancipated from the conservatorship in November 2021, following two speeches she delivered to a judge that effectively shifted the prevailing public opinion against it, ultimately becoming a prominent movement identified by the hashtag #FreeBritney.

However, several components persisted and prolonged the legal proceedings, including the ultimate disbursements to the lawyers who assisted in managing the conservatorship. Attorney Mathew Rosengart, representing Spears, also aimed to publicly address the alleged financial misconduct by Jamie Spears and the claims of extensive surveillance of Spears.

All of those matters will now be eliminated in the settlement, the details of which were not revealed in a series of legal documents filed last week. One of the files stated that Jamie Spears has been completely and permanently relieved of his duties as the Former Conservator of the Estate.

Britney And Jamie Spears Settlement Avoids Long, Potentially Ugly And Revealing Trial

“While the conservatorship was officially ended in November 2021, her desire for liberation is now fully realized,” stated Rosengart. As per her wishes, her independence now includes the fact that she will no longer be required to appear, participate in court, or be caught up in legal actions related to this issue. We have had the esteemed opportunity to represent, safeguard, and advocate for Britney Spears.

The trial was scheduled to commence next month.

The attorney representing Jamie Spears, Alex Weingarten, stated that the settlement was kept quiet at her lawyer’s insistence.

“Jamie is completely transparent and willing to reveal all details regarding every aspect of the conservatorship in order to provide the public with the genuine truth,” stated Weingarten to The Associated Press on Monday. “Jamie harbors deep affection for his daughter and has consistently exerted maximum effort to safeguard her.”

In her recently published memoir, “The Woman in Me,” Britney Spears candidly expressed her belief that her father consistently prioritized financial gain over all else.

Britney And Jamie Spears Settlement Avoids Long, Potentially Ugly And Revealing Trial

After the conservatorship ended, she married her long-term lover, Sam Asghari. However, Asghari initiated divorce proceedings slightly more than a year later. The divorce is still pending, and the two individuals are legally married.

Although she has experimented with music, including a duet with Elton John in 2022, she firmly denied reports of a new album in January and solemnly committed to never reenter the music industry.

SOURCE – (AP)

The following information is from a news article published by the Associated Press: Dua Lipa is levitating above the water, with the sun just starting to descend in the background. She appears robust and calm, except for the imminent danger posed by a colossal shark, whose fin barely breaks the surface just a few feet from her.

The picture is the front cover of her upcoming third album, titled “Radical Optimism,” which will be released on Friday. The album is a fitting visual depiction of seeking and safeguarding inner tranquility in difficult circumstances. This is a thematic evolution for the acclaimed pop artist, who has consistently characterized her music as a fusion of dance and emotional expression.

The word “cheeky” accurately represents the lively and celebratory nature of her most popular pop songs, but “Radical Optimism,” with its blend of psychedelic and electro-pop elements, adds complexity to this characterization.

She recently told The Associated Press, “There is undoubtedly a more cathartic element that accompanies the third album.”

Dua Lipa Is All About ‘Radical Optimism,’ In Her Music And Other Pursuits

“‘Future Nostalgia’ provided me with the opportunity to create a meticulously crafted pop-dance-disco album,” she explains, referring to her second release in 2020. “Radical Optimism,” on the other hand, was shaped by the knowledge she has acquired from her global tours in recent years. It incorporates elements from trip hop and Britpop, as well as a fresh fascination with live instruments.

“The creative process for her latest album was characterized by a greater sense of freedom and fluidity,” she remarks. Although it lacked a specific formula, I consistently kept a pop sensibility in my subconscious.” My intention was solely to engage in experimentation and endeavor to generate something innovative. This record has always been the exact album I have desired to create.

From multiple perspectives: Regarding her initial album, Lipa expressed her desire to collaborate with Kevin Parker from Tame Impala, particularly on her third album. The manifestation was successful, resulting in his being an essential participant in the project “Radical Optimism.”

“It felt as if an innate intuition within me was indicating that it was a result of my efforts,” she states. “I envisioned the opportunity to collaborate with a highly inspiring creative individual and gain valuable knowledge from him over a period of time.”

Regarding the title of the album, she describes it as being ecstatic and representing a sense of unity.

“Dance music has a rich history of establishing a secure and protected environment.” “And I simply want to personify that,” she continues.

She has exerted significant effort to reach that point. Lipa, currently 28 years old, commenced her professional journey at 15. She successfully persuaded her family to let her relocate from Kosovo, her birthplace, to London to pursue a career in the pop music industry. She attended school and worked as a model. In 2017, she published her self-titled first album, which included the highly successful dance-pop songs “New Rules” and “One Kiss.” Next, the nu-disco electropop of “Future Nostalgia” in 2020 established her as one of the most prominent figures in pop music. Impressive for a distinctive vocal style in the age of streaming, where attracting and maintaining the interest of a large audience has become increasingly difficult.

Dua Lipa Is All About ‘Radical Optimism,’ In Her Music And Other Pursuits

In 2024, her pop songs exhibit a form of acquired flexibility. Lipa incorporates unconventional synth sounds, layers melodies, showcases an expanded vocal range (especially evident in the track “Falling Forever”), and draws inspiration from U.K. rave culture and genre-defying artists like Primal Scream and Massive Attack. These are all aspects that Lipa admits she would have needed more audacity to explore on her previous album. That collaboration involved Parker, producer Danny L Harle, songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. (noted for his work with Harry Styles and Adele), and Lipa’s frequent collaborator Caroline Ailin.

“She possesses the ability to effectively manage a multitude of viewpoints in the room, including her own,” Jesso informs the AP. “She does not prioritize her own values over others’, but rather selects the ones that are most effective in accomplishing her goals.”

“We were a musical ensemble,” Lipa states of the collective. On the initial day, they penned the word “Illusion.” On the second day, the song’s title is “Happy for You.” “I had never composed a song of that nature previously,” she highlights. “I cherished that particular manifestation of my identity.” On the third day, the music genre known as post-disco pop is included in the song “Whatcha Doing.” They meticulously perfected Lipa’s most ambitious and euphoric-sounding record in bright and spacious facilities in London and Malibu.

Lipa’s many activities also demonstrate a consistent use of experimentation. She has taken on more juvenile roles, as she describes with a smile, following her portrayal of Mermaid Barbie in the highly successful film “Barbie” (where she also provided the widely recognized, Grammy-nominated song “Dance the Night” for the soundtrack) and her portrayal of LaGrange, a seductive spy, in “Argylle” (a brief performance that AP film critic Jake Coyle praised as the movie’s standout few minutes).

In 2022, she established a newsletter called Service95, which she considers an expansion of her childhood blog, to share stories from other global perspectives rather than just a Western viewpoint. It has evolved into a website, podcast, and book club: “It is simply another one of my hobbies that I have successfully transformed into a profession, which is truly wonderful,” she says, beaming.

My passion for the music profession requires me to constantly connect online due to my day job. “Currently, I am no longer engaging in doomscrolling on Twitter,” she states, referring to her media enterprise. “By engaging in this activity, I am acquiring fresh knowledge about the world.” I enjoy experiencing such contradictions in my life.

Dua Lipa Is All About ‘Radical Optimism,’ In Her Music And Other Pursuits

It is a dichotomy driven by curiosity, exemplified by Lipa’s act of confronting Apple CEO Tim Cook during an interview on her podcast over allegations of child labor in the Democratic Republic of Congo mining cobalt for iPhones, which garnered significant media attention.

“That was both frightening and highly exhilarating,” she states. “The outcome of an interview is always uncertain.”

Shortly after she visits the AP’s New York headquarters, Lipa attends a public high school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan to engage in a talk with kids. Drew Barrymore chairs the discussion.

Shortly after her arrival, Lipa departs with equal swiftness. An enduring sense of optimism fills the atmosphere. She previously mentioned to the AP that she aims to be intensely pleased in her personal life and pursuits.

“Occasionally, one must compel oneself to experience that sensation,” she remarks. Maintaining gratitude is undoubtedly a skill that requires regular practice.

She has composed the exercise soundtrack for “Radical Optimism.”

SOURCE – (AP)