'The history of Shakespeare in America,' writes James Shapiro in his introduction to this groundbreaking anthology, 'is also the history of America itself.' Shakespeare was a central, inescapable part of America's literary inheritance, and a prism through which crucial American issues-revolution, slavery, war, social justice-were refracted and understood.
JAMES SHAPIRO, editor, is Larry Miller Professor of English
at Columbia University and the author of Rival Playwrights,
Shakespeare and the Jews, Oberammergau, 1599: A Year in the Life of
William Shakespeare, and Contested Will: Who Wrote
Shakespeare?, among other works. His newest book
is The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606.
"I think Americans will be fascinated to learn of our deep and
early connection to the Bard, how he inspired presidents and
incited mobs, and how vivid the legacy of one Englishman's
imagination still sits within the consciousness of our country.
Like Shakespeare's own plays, this anthology is full of enthralling
stories and weird coincidences, and it's a treasure." — Meryl
Streep
"This is one of the more brilliantly conceived and edited books in
the entire recent history of the indispensable ‘Library of
America.’" --The Buffalo News
"There are discoveries and surprises along the way, like Lord
Buckley’s beat-era “Hipsters, Flipsters and Finger-Poppin’
Daddies,” an extended riff on Shakespeare’s most famous speeches
(“I came here to lay Caesar out, Not to hip you to him”), and
“Shakespeares of 1922,” a vaudeville sketch by Lorenz Hart and
Morrie Ryskind. But for many readers the real eye opener will be
the heated love affair, richly documented by Professor Shapiro,
between ordinary Americans and the most exalted writer in the
English language." --William Grimes, The New York Times
"'Shakespeare in America: An Anthology From the Revolution to
Now'…is a fascinating survey of the writer's importance to our
culture and his influence on literature, politics, entertainment
and more."
--Tampa Bay Times
"You will not want to miss a captivating volume just out from the
Library of America titled 'Shakespeare in America: An Anthology
From the Revolution to Now,' skillfully edited by James
Shapiro." --James M. Keller, Santa Fe New Mexican
"Shakespeare’s imprint on our culture and literature remains, as
this anthology so amply demonstrates. A review of it can only
answer one question: Does it accurately reflect the value that
Shakespeare’s plays have held in the hearts and minds of Americans
throughout our history? Yes, it does. We have treasured them always
and everywhere. They’re truly a part of America."
--Bryan Woolley, Dallas Morning News
"Shakespeare in America" is an entertaining, thought-provoking
miscellany, one that speaks as much to the American spirit of
reinvention and assimilation as it does to the influence of one
Elizabethan playwright and poet on the way we think and act and
speak."
--James D. Watts, Jr., Tulsa World
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