SenseList » Literature

Six Depictions of Shakespeare Using Inanimate Objects

Morgen Jahnke — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 22:36:01 +0000

We’ve all heard about or seen creative takes on classic Shakespearean plays (e.g. A Midsummer Night’s Dream set in the Roaring 20s), but these videos take that creative impulse one step further. This is Shakespeare like you’ve never seen it.

Anakin Caesar: The climactic scene of the play Julius Caesar gains new inspiration when Star Wars action figures substitute for human actors. Plus, I think the voices provided by the kids who made this video are adorable.

Macbeth Act 1, Scene 1: I used to play with Playmobil toys when I was little, but I never reached the artistic heights shown in this video.

Richard III (with vegetables): A lime, a bulb of garlic, and a knife. What could go wrong?

Old Audition Notice: The character of Caliban from The Tempest is usually a bit intimidating, but this puppet version of the wild man is oddly engaging in this casting call.

The Scottish Play (Macbeth) Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppets: The name of this clip pretty much says it all.

William Shakespeare’s Pingu: Imagines Romeo and Juliet as star-crossed penguins, of the stuffed animal variety (Sorry, embedding isn’t available for this clip).

Eight Contemporary Novels Over 700 Pages in Length

Morgen Jahnke — Thu, 03 May 2007 13:00:47 +0000

A few weeks ago the online version of The Times ran an article describing a publishing company’s plans to release new editions of classic works of literature, minus a few hundred pages of prose. According to the Orion Group, publishers of the new Compact Editions series, classics such as Anna Karenina, David Copperfield, and Moby Dick will go under the knife, with their total page count reduced to around 400 pages. While the majority of new novels published these days are significantly shorter than these hefty tomes, there are some authors who continue to produce extremely long novels. Here are eight novels, all published within the last fifteen years, whose page counts (in their original hardcover version) exceed a whopping 700 pages.

A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe: 744 pages
Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon: 784 pages
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke: 800 pages
Europe Central by William T. Vollmann: 832 pages
Until I Find You by John Irving: 848 pages
Les Bienveillantes by Jonathan Littell: 912 pages
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace: 1088 pages
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth: 1349 pages

Six Wacky Stores That Support Children’s Writing Centers

Joe Kissell — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 14:00:38 +0000

A group of nonprofit organizations called 826 National, which currently has six chapters around the country, teaches writing skills to children. As a way of raising money to support their work, each chapter runs a specially themed storefront operation selling supplies for everyone from superheroes to pirates. (Read more about 826 National at Interesting Thing of the Day.)

The stores (and their associated chapters) are:

the pirate supply store at 826 Valencia, San Francisco, CA
Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company, Brooklyn, NY (part of 826NYC)
Echo Park Time Travel Mart (sorry, no Web page), Venice Beach, CA (part of 826LA)
The Boring Store, Chicago, IL (part of 826CHI)
Greenwood Space Travel Supply Company, Seattle, WA (part of 826 Seattle)
Monsters Union Local 826, Ann Arbor, MI (part of 826 Michigan

Eight Ways to Find Serenity

Joe Kissell — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 14:00:25 +0000

As previously mentioned, Firefly is without any doubt the best thing ever to have been broadcast on TV. This outer-space western followed the exploits of Captain Mal Reynolds and the crew of the Firefly-class spaceship Serenity, and has attracted a rabid base of fans (or “Browncoats,” as we like to be called) far out of proportion to its brief time on the air. For those who just can’t get enough Firefly, here are eight things you can buy to help scratch that itch:

Firefly: The Complete Series (DVD): Start here, and watch all the shows in the order they were originally intended to be shown (which is different from the order in which they aired). And enjoy the wonderful special features.
Firefly (Original Television Soundtrack) by Greg Edmonson contains 25 tracks of music from the series, including the theme song, and is just the thing to have playing in the background while you do some reading…
Firefly Official Companion, Vol. 1 by Joss Whedon: This book contains scripts, photos, and a wealth of inside information on the show. (No word yet on Volume 2!)
Serenity: Those Left Behind: This graphic novel by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews, and Will Conrad takes place between the TV series and the movie, which brings us to…
Serenity (DVD): Next, watch the outstanding sequel movie, which makes sense even if you’ve never watched a single Firefly episode (but is better still if you have). Then you’ll want to read…
Serenity Official Visual Companion: This book by Joss Whedon includes the shooting script for Serenity, an extended interview, and all sorts of other extras.
Done The Impossible: The Fans’ Tale of Firefly & Serenity: This unusually high-quality fan-produced DVD, hosted by Adam Baldwin (Jayne) and with voiceover by Jewel Staite (Kaylee), documents the life of the show and movie from the viewers’ point of view.
Finally, Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon’s Firefly: This book of essays about the Firefly/Serenity phenomenon, including one by Jewel Staite, provides a different set of perspectives on the show.

41 Bookstores in Hay-on-Wye, Wales

Morgen Jahnke — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 13:00:58 +0000

The Welsh town of Hay-on-Wye (or Y Gelli in Welsh) was the starting point for the international “book towns” movement, now made up of about 20 towns around the world. Boasting 41 bookstores for only 1500 inhabitants (that’s about one bookstore for every 37 residents), Hay-on-Wye also plays host to the annual Hay Festival, a literary gathering that draws 80,000 visitors each May.

The bookstores in Hay-on-Wye are notable not only for being so numerous, but also for their large range of subject matter and unique settings. I’ve read that there are 41 bookstores in the town, but depending on how you count, you can come up with a shorter or longer list. For example, there are numerous stores not listed here that sell books but just not as their main products, at least one wholesale book dealer, and a couple of additional book binderies. Most of the bookstores in this list are from the list of bookshops on the town’s official Web site and this PDF map of the 2006 festival. Feel free to leave a comment if you know of any others.

Addyman’s Books: General selection with a focus on English literature and modern first editions.
Addyman’s Annexe: Offshoot of Addyman’s Books that, according to their Web site, specializes in “the sexier material: beat, sex, drugs, art, modern firsts, poetry, philosophy, left wing history and the occasional occult work!”
Antique Golf & Books
Antique & Book Centre
C. Arden, Bookseller: Natural history and gardening books
Backfold Books & Bygones
B & K Books: Books about bees and apiculture.
The Black Mountains Bindery: Mainly a book repair shop, they also have a small selection of secondhand books.
Bookends: A chain of bookstores with its main operations in Hay-on-Wye.
The Bookshop
The Book Unit
Boz Books: Specializes in Dickens and other 19th century authors.
Broad Street Book Centre
Castle Street Books
The Children’s Bookshop
The Children’s Bookshop (Number 2)
Davidleesbooks.com
Greenways Corner Bookshop
Hancock & Monks
Hay Castle: Bookstore located in the town’s 13th-century castle.
Hay Cinema Bookshop: One of the largest stores in town, and as its name suggests, it was formerly a cinema.
Hay-on-Wye Booksellers
Hay-on-Wye Books Trade
Kestrel Books and Gallery
Lion Street Bookshop
Marijana Dworski Books: Specializes in languages (dictionaries, grammars etc.), and books on the Balkans, Russia, Central Asia and East Central Europe.
Andrew Morton Books
Murder & Mayhem: Offshoot of Addyman’s Books, sells detective fiction.
The New Strand
Outcast Books
Oxford House Books
Pembertons: Sells new books, and is the official bookseller for the Hay Festival.
Rare Comics & Cards
Richard Booth’s Bookshop Ltd: Located in the town’s old firehouse, this bookstore is owned by the man who began the book town movement in Hay-on-Wye in 1961.
Rose’s Books: Specializes in rare and out-of-print children’s and illustrated books.
The Poetry Bookshop
The Sensible Bookshop
The Strand Bookshop
Westhouse Books
Mark Westwood Books
Y Gelli Auctions

Eight poets named William

Morgen Jahnke — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 13:00:35 +0000

Although the name William is very common, there does seem to be a preponderance of poets with that name, including many from my list of favorites. Did the parents of Blake, Wordsworth, and Yeats hope that their sons would grow up to be great poets in the same mold as their famous predecessor, William Shakespeare? Or did they just like the name?

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) Playwright and poet par excellence; his sonnets are among the best known poems in the English language.
William Cowper (1731–1800) Hymn-writer and poet; his major work was The Task, a poem inspired by his parlor sofa.
William Blake (1757–1827) Master engraver and poet; combining poems and images, his illuminated works are justly famous.
William Wordsworth (1770–1850) Leading figure in the Romantic poetry movement of the 19th Century; his joint venture with fellow poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lyrical Ballads, was extremely influential.
William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) Poet and Irish political leader; considered one of the greatest poets of the 20th Century, Yeats received the Nobel Prize in 1923 for his work.
William Carlos Williams (1883–1963) Physician and poet; known for the brevity and unadorned language of his poems.
William Stafford (1914–1993) Educator and poet; his first book of poems, Traveling Through the Dark, published when he was forty-eight, won the National Book Award in 1963.
Billy (William) Collins (1941– ) Former U.S. Poet Laureate; his latest book of poems is The Trouble with Poetry: And Other Poems.

IKEA products that could be Shakespearean epithets

Morgen Jahnke — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 13:00:50 +0000

This is the fourth entry in our series of IKEA lists.

I have great affection for the wonderful epithets Shakespeare coined for his plays; his linguistic dexterity and wit seem to shine most brightly when he is putting these put-downs in the mouths of his characters. There are too many to list from his plays (see for example, Shakespeare’s Insults and Shakespearean Insulter) but here are my humble contributions to the tradition.

Aspudden
Old meaning: Wall cabinet
New meaning: Lazy person
Balser
Old meaning: Chair
New meaning: Adulterer
Bastant
Old meaning: Basket
New meaning: Knave, of questionable parentage
Didrick
Old meaning: Storage unit on casters
New meaning: Fool
Flaj
Old meaning: Box
New meaning: Weakling
Jerker
Old meaning: Add-on shelf unit
New meaning: Violent, brutish person
Pamp
Old meaning: Vase
New meaning: Arrogant person

The Questionnaires of James Lipton, Bernard Pivot, and Marcel Proust

Joe Kissell — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 13:00:53 +0000

Fans of Inside the Actor’s Studio are familiar with James Lipton’s list of questions, which he poses to each of his guests at the end of an interview. Lipton always gives credit for this list to French talk show host Bernard Pivot, who hosted Apostrophes from 1975–1990 and Bouillon de Culture from 1990–2001; he often mentions that the list originally came from French novelist Marcel Proust (1871–1922). Proust did not actually create the questionnaire that frequently has his name attached, though he did famously answer two versions of it (once at age 13, and a second time at age 20), and thereby gave the lists a certain notoriety. Their original author is unknown.

As it turns out, Lipton’s list differs in three questions from Pivot’s, and neither of the lists has a single question in common with either of Proust’s! But here are all four lists (the last three being approximate French translations).

James Lipton’s Questionnaire

What is your favorite word?
What is your least favorite word?
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
What turns you off?
What is your favorite curse word?
What sound or noise do you love?
What sound or noise do you hate?
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
What profession would you not like to do?
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Bernard Pivot’s Questionnaire

What is your favorite word?
What is your least favorite word?
What is your favorite drug?
What sound or noise do you love?
What sound or noise do you hate?
What is your favorite curse word?
Who would you like to see on a new banknote?
What profession other than your own would you not like to attempt?
If you were reincarnated as some other plant or animal, what would it be?
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Marcel Proust’s Questionnaires

At age 13:

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Where would you like to live?
What is your idea of earthly happiness?
To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
Who are your favorite fictional heroes?
Who are your favorite characters in history?
Who are your favorite heroines in real life?
Who are your favorite fictional heroines?
Who is your favorite painter?
Who is your favorite musician?
What quality do you most admire in a man?
What quality do you most admire in a woman?
What is your favorite virtue?
What is your favorite occupation?
Who would you have liked to be?

At age 20:

What is your most marked characteristic?
What quality do you most like in a man?
What quality do you most like in a woman?
What do you value most in your friends?
What is your principal defect?
What is your favorite occupation?
What is your dream of happiness?
What to your mind would be the greatest misfortune?
What would you like to be?
In what country would you like to live?
What is your favorite color?
What is your favorite flower?
What is your favorite bird?
Who are your favorite prose writers?
Who are your favoite poets?
Who are your favorite fictional heros?
Who are your favorite fictional heroines?
Who are your favorite composers?
Who are your favorite painters?
Who are your heroes in real life?
Who are your favorite heroines of history?
What are your favorite names?
What do you most dislike?
What historical figures do you most despise?
What event in military history do you most admire?
What reform do you most admire?
What natural gift would you most like to possess?
How would you like to die?
What is your present state of mind?
To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
What is your motto?

Eight people who might be the “real” Shakespeare

Morgen Jahnke — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 13:00:12 +0000

In academic circles, the question of Shakespeare’s “real” identity has long been debated. Some scholars believe, for various reasons, that the historical person known as William Shakespeare was not the actual author of the works he is known for today. Entire books have been dedicated to the subject, on both sides of the issue. I recently read Stephen Greenblatt’s biography of Shakespeare, Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare, which carefully lays out the existing evidence that links William Shakespeare, the historical person, to elements of the writings, and in the absence of direct evidence, makes reasonable assumptions about these connections. I found the book quite convincing, but I personally don’t need proof of authorship to enjoy the plays and poems, although I do love good literary gossip. For those interested in the controversy, here are the leading contenders:

Francis Bacon: aristocrat and philosopher known for formulating the Baconian method; the earliest contender
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford: a poet and patron of the arts; currently the most popular contender (see “Shakespeare” by Another Name by Mark Anderson)
Christopher Marlowe: poet and playwright; a historically popular contender even though he died before many of Shakespeare’s works appeared
Sir Henry Neville: diplomat and distant relative of Shakespeare; the newest addition to the list (see The Truth Will Out: Unmasking the Real Shakespeare by Brenda James and William D. Rubinstein)
William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby
Roger Manners, 5th Earl of Rutland
Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke
William Shakespeare (yes, it’s still possible)

For much more information on this debate, go here, here, or here.

Six bestselling books about Da Vinci, the Templars, and the Holy Grail

Morgen Jahnke — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 13:00:23 +0000

The following books with subject matter relating to the Holy Grail, Leonardo Da Vinci and/or the Templars all appeared on the April 9, 2006 New York Times Hardcover Fiction and Paperback Nonfiction Bestseller Lists:

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (Holy Grail, Da Vinci, Templars) (hardcover | paperback)
The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry (Templars) (paperback)
The Secret Supper by Javier Serra (Da Vinci) (paperback)
The Last Templar by Raymond Khoury (Templars) (paperback)
Labyrinth by Kate Mosse (Holy Grail) (paperback)
Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln (Holy Grail, Templars) (paperback)