‘Shakespeare was a Black woman’: the playwright’s under-recognized connection to Black culture
This story deserves to be shared
Send it to someone who'd care, or post it on your networks.
“William Shakespeare was a black woman.” In 1985, Maya Angelou spoke these words as part of a keynote speech at a convention in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There, she spoke of the role poetry played in her transition from muteness as a child and how she fantasized herself triumphantly delivering Portia’s speech from William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice in front of her entire community at church. Though she never got the chance to perform that rendition, Angelou acknowledged her desire to deliver that rendition as part of a lifelong kinship with Shakespeare, a connection she continued to seek out throughout her life whenever she needed heartening or solace. In her eyes, Shakespeare wrote his emotionally desolate Sonnet 29 “for” her; how else could he have so aptly described the harsh realities of the Black feminine condition? “Of course he wrote it for me,” Angelou declared. “Of course, he was a Black woman. I understand that.
This article is an excerpt. To read the full content, visit the original source. The Guardian Culture
Related articles
Alan Mandell, acclaimed actor and interpreter of playwright Samuel Beckett's work, dies at 98 - Los Angeles Times
Alan Mandell, an acclaimed classical actor and one of the foremost interpreters of playwright Samuel Beckett’s work, died Tuesday at his home in Westwood. He was 98. Representatives for Mandell’s family confirmed his death to The Times. Mandell started his theater career in the early 1950s as the artistic director of Theater ‘49 in Toronto. While visiting his sister, he started to work with the San Francisco Actor’s Workshop in 1954. During his time with the theater group, his collaboration with co-founders Jules Irving and Herbert Blau helped transform the workshop into one of the first regional theater companies in the U. S. “My one-week vacation turned into a 12-year stay,” Mandell told The Times in 1992 about what was meant to be a short trip. During an Actor’s Workshop production of Beckett’s absurdist play “Waiting for Godot” in San Quentin Prison, his portrayal of Lucky inspired the prisoners and led to the creation of the San Quentin Drama Workshop with inmate Rick Cluchey. The troupe operated from 1958 through 1965, making it the first extended prison theater program in the U. S. launched by prisoners. John N.
Union Arts Center takes on Shakespeare classic ‘Hamlet’ - Yakima Herald-Republic
Emmanuel Acho Put On The Worst Performance In Sports Debate History By Bragging About Being A Nerd And Reading Shakespeare - Barstool Sports
Emmanuel Acho and Leonard Fournette got into an argument about god knows what. I don't particularly care to find out what the root of all this stems from. All I know is that Emmanuel Acho is one of the most insufferable dickheads in sports media, and I'm pretty sure I am co-workers with Leonard Fournette. So I'll be taking Lenny's side 10 times out of 10 here. ESPECIALLY once that weasel Emmanuel Acho decided that the only ammo he had to fight with was bragging about being a dork who learned Shakespeare in middle school. I don't know a single person in my actual life who cares one bit about what Emmanuel Acho has to say about anything. In fact, I really don't know anybody in my actual life who has even listened to Emmanuel Acho say anything. I might just be way too online. But how on Earth could anybody consider listening to his commentary on sports when his only debate against Leonard Fournette is "I'm smarter than you and I was a fucking dork in middle school"? He played the game, I get it. But this is something that actually drives me nuts. If you're arguing about sports, then keep it about sports.
0 comments
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!