Presenting Shakespeare & the Plague
Dear Simpsonistas,
We are thrilled to present Shakespeare & the Plague, a playful, thoughtful mashup of Shakespeare's treatment of plague in his plays. Many people do not know that he lived his whole life in the shadow of a plague. We were honored to collaborate with an all-star team on this project, including Philippa Kelly of the California Shakespeare Theater, the Pandemic Popup Players, the videographer Obatala Mawusi, and Stephen Greenblatt of Harvard University, General Editor of The Norton Shakespeare.
The twenty-minute film and companion Viewer's Guide are free for all, and particularly useful for teachers and students experiencing their own plague. What better time to breathe new life into these classic works? They dramatize the dread and disruption we all feel today.
Help us spread the word. Thanks for forwarding this email, sharing the Youtube link, or otherwise shouting it from all the real and virtual rooftops. Please also drop us a line or post a comment to let us know what you think. We'd love to hear from you.
All for now,
Diane & Joe
diane@newliteraryproject.org
jdp@newliteraryproject.org
The Simpson Literary Project Presents Shakespeare & the Plague
Pulitzer Prize-winner Stephen Greenblatt of Harvard, General Editor of The Norton Shakespeare, introduces this mash-up curated by Philippa Kelly and performed by the Pandemic Popup Players. Read more.
Viewer's Guide
You'll find background information and discussion questions for teaching Shakespeare & the Plague in class and on stage in an accompanying Viewer's Guide composed by Director and Dramaturg Philippa Kelly.
2021 Joyce Carol Oates Prize Nominations Open
Nominations for the Joyce Carol Oates prize are being received via Submittable. The Simpson Literary Project awards the annual prize to a distinguished mid-career author of fiction. The deadline to submit is November 8, 2020. If you have any nominees of a midcareer fiction writer, please let us know.
Mellon Foundation Grant Recipient
The Mellon Foundation's Literary Arts Emergency Fund was created to support nonprofit organizations that sustain literary culture in the U.S. We are honored and grateful to be a recipient of this generous grant.
