May 26, 2023

Title: -ANONYMOUS

Constructor: Erik Agard

Editor: Erik Agard

Theme Answers:

HEAD CANON (18A: Fan's unconfirmed interpretation of a character or story)

BEIRUT, LEBANON (39A: Capital city on the Mediterranean)

FRANTZ FANON (55A: "The Wretched of the Earth" author)

Theme synopsis: Each theme answer ends with -ANON.

Things I learned:

• FRANTZ FANON (55A: "The Wretched of the Earth" author) FRANTZ FANON (1925-1961) was a psychiatrist and political philosopher. He was born on the island of Martinique in the French West Indies. In the 1950s he worked as a psychiatrist in a hospital in Algiers. In treating patients that were part of the French police and Algerians that were victims of the French police, he became convinced of the evils of colonialism. In his 1961 book, The Wretched of the Earth, FRANTZ FANON psychoanalyzes the dehumanizing effects of colonization. Shortly after The Wretched of the Earth was published, FRANTZ FANON died from double pneumonia while undergoing treatment for leukemia. If you'd like to learn more about FRANTZ FANON, I recommend The New Yorker article, "FRANTZ FANON's Enduring Legacy."
• SITARIST (58A: Musician like Nikhil Banerjee) Nikhil Banerjee (1931-1986) was a SITARIST of the Maihar Ghana, a school of classical music that originated in the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. A child prodigy, Nickel Banerjee won the All-Bengal sitar competition at the age of nine. You can find Nikhil Banerjee's music on Spotify.
• TANGERINE (11D: 2015 movie whose title is a fruit) TANGERINE is a 2015 movie about a transgender sex worker (played by Kitana Kiki Rodriquez) who discovers her boyfriend, who is also her pimp, has been cheating on her.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• HEADCANON (18A: Fan's unconfirmed interpretation of a character or story) The word "canon" can be used to refer to the works of a writer. Canon can also include movies adapted from an author's work. The term "HEADCANON" is used to refer to ideas that have emerged about a character or story that is not directly supported by books or movies. A related word, "fanon," is used to describe when someone's HEADCANON is shared and becomes accepted by others. Although HEADCANON is not in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it is a word they're watching.
• ODE (27A: An ___ to Bats" (Gertrude Sturdle poem)) Do you ever feel like you're on the outside of an inside joke that everyone else is in on? That is how I feel after trying to discover who Gertrude Sturdle is! I found numerous short, funny poems attributed to Gertrude Sturdle, but no information on the poet. Anyway, here's Gertrude Sturdle's "An ODE to Bats." Enjoy! "Bats! / You have never / tried to / take my / money / or / smack me / in the / knee-caps. / For that, / I am grateful. / Bats!"
• AT EASE (62A: Untroubled) and SERENE (63A: Untroubled) The bottom section of this puzzle does not have a care in this world.
• SEPT (5D: Birth mo. for many Virgos) Virgo is the sixth sign of the zodiac. Virgos are those whose birthdays fall between Aug. 23 to SEPT. 22. 
• OVERSTATEMENT (7D: What "Home of the world's best pizza!" most likely is) This is the best clue ever! Okay, perhaps that's a bit of an OVERSTATEMENT, but I did thoroughly enjoy this clue. 

Geography review:

• BEIRUT, LEBANON (39A: Capital city on the Mediterranean) BEIRUT, LEBANON is situated on a peninsula that juts into the Mediterranean Sea. In addition to being the country's capital, BEIRUT is LEBANON's largest city. BEIRUT, LEBANON is not the only capital city located on the Mediterranean Sea. This is a perfect opportunity for a (rather tricky, I think) Geography Quiz. Can you name any of the other capital cities on the Mediterranean? Including BEIRUT, LEBANON, there are eight. Answer to the Geography Quiz is found at the end of this blog post.
• EAST (49D: Direction from Ethiopia to Somalia) Ethiopia and Somalia are countries located in the Horn of Africa, a peninsula on the easternmost part of Africa. Ethiopia is a landlocked country, and it borders Somalia to the EAST. Somalia, which has coastline along the Gulf of Aden (to the north) and the Indian Ocean (to the EAST), has the longest coastline of any mainland African country.
• ANDES (53D: South American mountain range) The ANDES Mountains, located along the western edge of South America, is the longest continental range of mountains in the world. The countries spanned by the ANDES are, from north to south: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.
• FRAN (55D: Second word of a rhyming nickname for a Bay Area city) I worked my way backwards through the clue to get at this one: "Bay Area city...San Francisco. Rhyming nickname...San FRAN. Second word...got it."

This is a clever theme, and I appreciated parsing the theme answers as if they were quotes from ANONYMOUS sources, e.g. "HEADC" -ANON. I like the word ELEGANT (61A: Simple and stylish). (In fact, I used the word "ELEGANT" three times in a recent write-up!) Thank you, Erik, for this puzzle that was a great way to begin my Friday.

Answer to the Geography Review Quiz: The eight capital cities located along the Mediterranean coast are: BEIRUT, LEBANON; Athens, Greece; Algiers, Algeria; Rome, Italy; Tripoli, Libya; Tunis, Tunisia; Valletta, Malta; and the Vatican City.