Many of Shakespeare’s plays were not published during his lifetime; in 1623, seven years after his death, fellow actors compiled 36 of them for future generations. Half of these — including Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Antony and Cleopatra, The Comedy of Errors, and As You Like It — had never been published and would have been lost without this First Folio publication. This year, as the Folger Shakespeare Library, in partnership with Cincinnati Museum Center and the American Library Association, tours a First Folio to all 50 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico, we are challenged not to fall back on the clichés — “greatest writer in English,” “not for an age but for all time” — in our celebrations. Kahn will explore some of the reasons why his works have lasted more than four hundred years. Notable among them is the First Folio itself, on display at Brown 4/11-5/1 and celebrated in many programs and events now underway. Anniversary celebrations, film and TV adaptations, even parodies and cartoons also keep him in the cultural spotlight.

Sponsored by Marcus Law Offices.