NPR : Would Life Be Better If We All Spoke Shakespeare?
Talk of the Nation
Shakespeare died almost 400 years ago, but if blogger Joe Muldoon had it his way, we would all still speak like the Bard. Muldoon talks about his op-ed, 'We Can't All Be Shakespeare — But We Could Try to Be,' which appeared in the Minneapolis Star Tribune." Muldoon is joined by Gail Paster, head of the Folger Shakespeare Library.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Shakespeare Books Reviewed in the New York Times
"Keeping the Faith With Shakespeare"
Willam Grimes reviews the latest Shakespeare books.
"Keeping the Faith With Shakespeare"
Willam Grimes reviews the latest Shakespeare books.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
'Julius X' remixes Malcolm and Shakespeare
'Julius X' remixes Malcolm and Shakespeare in Detroit
How's this for confidence? In his play 'Julius X,' Al Letson Jr. dares to alter the way we think about two iconic figures, Julius Caesar and Malcolm X -- three, if you count Shakespeare.
'Julius X,' in its world premiere at Plowshares Theatre, re-imagines Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar' as the story of Malcolm X's assassination -- and vice versa. Brutus and Cassius are renamed Brutus Muhammad and Cassius 10X. Like their Shakespearean counterparts, the chief conspirators are motivated by a jumble of jealousy, ambition and patriotism -- the latter meaning devotion to Harlem, the Nation of Islam and black people in general."
How's this for confidence? In his play 'Julius X,' Al Letson Jr. dares to alter the way we think about two iconic figures, Julius Caesar and Malcolm X -- three, if you count Shakespeare.
'Julius X,' in its world premiere at Plowshares Theatre, re-imagines Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar' as the story of Malcolm X's assassination -- and vice versa. Brutus and Cassius are renamed Brutus Muhammad and Cassius 10X. Like their Shakespearean counterparts, the chief conspirators are motivated by a jumble of jealousy, ambition and patriotism -- the latter meaning devotion to Harlem, the Nation of Islam and black people in general."
CTV.ca | Video game helps kids learn about Shakespeare
Video game helps kids learn about Shakespeare
Makers of a new video game are hoping students will become excited about Shakespeare by trading in their books for a spaceship.
University of Guelph English professor Dan Fischlin came up with 'Speare, based on the works of William Shakespeare, in an effort to get young people interested again in the literary legend.
As the character 'Speare, players must save the planet from evil ships that have captured the ancient text of Romeo and Juliet.
Makers of a new video game are hoping students will become excited about Shakespeare by trading in their books for a spaceship.
University of Guelph English professor Dan Fischlin came up with 'Speare, based on the works of William Shakespeare, in an effort to get young people interested again in the literary legend.
As the character 'Speare, players must save the planet from evil ships that have captured the ancient text of Romeo and Juliet.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Did He or Didn’t He? That Is the Question - New York Times
Did He or Didn’t He? That Is the Question
The New York Times survey of professors of Shakespeare, conducted March 5 though 29, is based on a random sample of colleges and universities in the United States that offer degree programs in English. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 5 percentage points. Professors were sent an e-mail invitation to complete the survey online.
These are the survey results.
The New York Times survey of professors of Shakespeare, conducted March 5 though 29, is based on a random sample of colleges and universities in the United States that offer degree programs in English. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 5 percentage points. Professors were sent an e-mail invitation to complete the survey online.
These are the survey results.
Monday, April 16, 2007
A Shakespeare play’s the thing - Newsday.com
A Shakespeare Play’s the Thing
THE BOOK OF AIR AND SHADOWS, by Michael Gruber. William Morrow, 480 pp., $24.95.
A man, a moll and a gun used to do the trick, but now thrillers come at you bulked out in learned controversy and scholarly intrigue. Blame it on "The Da Vinci Code" or "The Rule of Four" - take your pick. Sure, there are scams and cons galore in these blockbusters, but they don't involve knocking off the corner bank. There is much greater game afoot, usually involving world history. With "The Book of Air and Shadows," it's an unpublished play by Shakespeare, which, as one character effuses, "would be certainly the most valuable single manuscript, perhaps the most valuable portable object, in the world." Not many bank vaults can compete with that.
THE BOOK OF AIR AND SHADOWS, by Michael Gruber. William Morrow, 480 pp., $24.95.
A man, a moll and a gun used to do the trick, but now thrillers come at you bulked out in learned controversy and scholarly intrigue. Blame it on "The Da Vinci Code" or "The Rule of Four" - take your pick. Sure, there are scams and cons galore in these blockbusters, but they don't involve knocking off the corner bank. There is much greater game afoot, usually involving world history. With "The Book of Air and Shadows," it's an unpublished play by Shakespeare, which, as one character effuses, "would be certainly the most valuable single manuscript, perhaps the most valuable portable object, in the world." Not many bank vaults can compete with that.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
April Shakespeare Quiz
This quiz is from Sam Sacks and was posted on his blog, Open Letters.
There’s nothing quite like a good quiz to get the mental juices flowing, but they’ve become intensely problematic in this age of instantaneous Internet content at everybody’s fingertips. Google and Wikipedia and like sites are pirate-coves for the lazy and the cheatful, and so the monthly Open Letters quiz will rely entirely on the honor system: readers are expected to rely on their memories alone. And no quiz would be complete without incentive! The first reader to respond with the highest number of correct answers will receive a book in the mail, courtesy of the editors at Open Letters.
Email your answers to quiz@openlettersmonthly.com .
This quiz is from Sam Sacks and was posted on his blog, Open Letters.
There’s nothing quite like a good quiz to get the mental juices flowing, but they’ve become intensely problematic in this age of instantaneous Internet content at everybody’s fingertips. Google and Wikipedia and like sites are pirate-coves for the lazy and the cheatful, and so the monthly Open Letters quiz will rely entirely on the honor system: readers are expected to rely on their memories alone. And no quiz would be complete without incentive! The first reader to respond with the highest number of correct answers will receive a book in the mail, courtesy of the editors at Open Letters.
Email your answers to quiz@openlettersmonthly.com .
Monday, April 02, 2007
Roger Rees wants you to learn to stop worrying and love the Bard.
He arrives onstage in "What You Will," his new one-man show, with a bust of the playwright under his arm, and proceeds to talk to and about him in the flippant manner of one who is not impressed with the writer's body of work. As he notes with a conspiratorial sneer, there weren't that many people on the planet in Shakespeare's time.
"Anyone," Rees notes tongue-in-cheekily, "could get published in those days."
"Anyone," Rees notes tongue-in-cheekily, "could get published in those days."
This contrarian prologue to the 90-minute piece, which had its premiere over the weekend in a brief run at Folger Theatre, establishes an easygoing accessibility and the actor's charming campaign to divest the appreciation of Shakespeare of any fusty traces of reverence.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)