Culture Shift is a weekly newsletter curated by the HuffPost Arts & Books editors. From literature to visual arts, poetry to performance, get your culture fix here.
This week we're talking about loss in literature, the power of semicolons, Frida Kahlo in Detroit, a history of female surfers, rock 'n roll savior Toro y Moi, and -- wait for it -- New York's exclusive sex parties.
Everyone Who Wants To Understand Loss And Trauma Should Read This Stunning New Book
"The triumph of A Little Life's many pages is significant: It wraps us so thoroughly in a character's life that his trauma, his struggles, his griefs come to seem as familiar and inescapable as our own. There's no one way to experience loss, abuse, or the effects of trauma, of course, but the vividness of Jude's character and experiences makes the pain almost tangible, the fall-out more comprehensible. It's a monument of empathy, and that alone makes this novel wondrous." (Read more here)
How Frida Kahlo's Miscarriage Put Her On The Path To Becoming An Iconic Artist
"Before Frida Kahlo reached her 25th birthday, the Mexican artist had contracted polio, survived a horrific bus accident and endured a traumatic miscarriage. However, the loss of her baby -- compounded by the alienation she was experiencing while living in Detroit -- shaped her artistic vision and propelled her career forward, as shown in a new exhibition put on by the museum that brought her to the city 80 years ago." (Read more here)
Here's What Really Happens At One Of New York's Most Exclusive Sex Parties
"In this episode of the HuffPost Love + Sex Podcast, co-hosts Carina Kolodny and Noah Michelson discover a sex party called Chemistry, which takes place several times a year in New York City. Chemistry is an exclusive event that requires participants to fill out a questionnaire about their interests and feelings about sex and sexuality before being approved to join in the fun. The party regularly draws close to 200 people who come together for a sensual experience that involves music, food, theatrical performances like burlesque dancing and even knife throwing and -- oh yeah -- sex." (Read more here)
Toro Y Moi Is Going To Save Rock 'N Roll Even If No One's Asking Him To
"Chazwick Bundick is happy to let you label him. Better known as Toro y Moi, the stage name under which he rose to indie fame, Bundick's quick to shrug at 'chillwave,' the winky Hipster Runoff-invented genre he helped make popular in the late 2000s, and is in no hurry to give his new album, 'What For?' a definitive identity. 'I'll leave it to other people to label,' he told The Huffington Post." (Read more here)
Zaha Hadid: It's Tough Being An Arab Woman In The Architecture Business
"My work is not within the accepted box. Maybe because I am a woman. Also an Arab. There was a certain prejudice about these things." (Read more here)
Before Female Surfers Were Sex Symbols, They Were Trailblazers
"In honor of Women's History Month, we look back at the pioneers of women's surfing -- the original role models. These women who surfed in the '50s and '60s didn't have to deal with the pressure of billion dollar brands and sensationalist media, but they did have to face male-dominated lineups and rigid stereotypes about the roles of women." (Read more here) Semicolons: How To Use Them, And Why You Should 
"Does the semicolon really need a defense? The punctuation mark has seemingly won more earnest supporters than snide detractors over the years, even as its use has plummeted. In 2012, Ben Dolnick wrote eloquently of his 'love story' with semicolons in The New York Times' Draft blog. In 2008, the Guardian tallied up the pro and con factions among well-known writers who had gone on the record regarding semicolons: 11 for, 4 against, 3 undecided. Perhaps not the unanimous support a period might garner (surely we can all agree on something as utilitarian as a period), but still a landslide win for the semicolon."
(Read more here) African Fashion Is Taking A Generation By Storm And Validating Its Importance 
"It must be said that a trend can only stand the test of time if it responds to the genuine, fundamental needs of consumers. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Africans belonging to today's Diaspora, and especially those of my generation (I turned 29 a month ago), are undergoing a real return to the roots, born not of a label's well-orchestrated marketing campaign, but of an absence -- and subsequent need for validation -- of their cultural heritage. A need to know and learn more about it, and more importantly, to assert its validity and importance."
(Read more here) 
