Folger Shakespeare Library is celebrating its 75th anniversary. A gift to the American people from Henry Clay Folger, Jr. and his wife Emily Jordan Folger, the library was founded one block east of the U.S. Capitol in 1932.
In commemoration of this jubilee anniversary, the Folger is mounting a library-wide celebration of Shakespeare in American Life that includes:
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a documentary for public radio
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a major exhibition accompanied by a catalog
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theater performances
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concerts
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readings
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lectures
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family programs
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scholarly seminars and conferences
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new publications
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special events
Click on the links at left to learn the details.
“Like Shakespeare himself, the Folger Shakespeare Library belongs to Washington, the nation, and the world,” says Dr. Gail Kern Paster, the library’s Director. “I can think of no more fitting way to mark the 75th birthday of one of the world’s great libraries than to celebrate the man whose works inspired its founding—a poet-playwright imported from England but transformed by the unprecedented blending of New World cultures into a uniquely American figure.”
Among the sponsors are Advanta, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Chevy Chase Bank, Congressional Quarterly, Delmas Foundation, The Lee & Juliet Folger Fund, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Kroll, The Mosaic Foundation (of Rita & Peter Heydon), The National Capital Bank of Washington, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, W.W. Norton & Company, PACCAR Inc, Margaret Abell Powell Fund, Simon & Schuster, Inc., Time Warner, Verizon Yellow Pages, and many generous individuals.
From January through June of 2007, the jubilee anniversary events were a centerpiece of the citywide Shakespeare in Washington festival.
