Celebration by the Folger Shakespeare Library ~ Bringing the First Folio to All 50 States in 2016
2016 was truly the year for Shakespeare, around the globe, as it was the 400th anniversary of his death on April 23, 1616 (as marked on the British calendar at the time). Remember that Will was a working (hard-working and financially successful) actor ~ a player ~ and his exit stage left was far too soon at age 52. However, in 16th- and 17th-Century London, a relatively young death from a variety of illnesses or infections (including plague) was not uncommon.
The 400th anniversary was truly a global celebration, with special events and performances around the world, throughout the year. Here in the U.S., the Folger Shakespeare Library, located in Washington, D.C., sent one of their 82 original copies of the 1623 First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays to a selected host in each of the 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Here in Texas, the host was Texas A&M university.
I took the trip from North Texas to see the original, 393-year-old printed copy and to hear and see my favorite Shakespeare scholar, James Shapiro. I listened to an informative lecture related to his latest publication, The Year of Lear, got several books signed, and spent perhaps 15 or so minutes in delightful conversation with the friendly and gracious professor. One of my “missions” was to ask his opinion of a book I very much like, Shakespeare The Player, by the late Shakespearean actor and director John Southworth. Professor Shapiro’s comment was, “That is a great book.” I was very glad to hear that opinion because I think the same! Then, we very briefly remarked on various viewpoints regarding Shakespeare’s early career.
More on all this elsewhere and in the future. Congratulations, Will. You are a global industry and still entertain audiences 400 years later. But did you ever think you’d have a career confounding high-school students?
Images used by permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.