On May 2, 2024 the Folger’s virtual book club continues with a discussion of The East Indian by Brinda Charry. To prepare for the discussion, we have pulled together a list of resources related to A Midsummer Night’s Dream and America’s early colonization.
READ the Shakespeare play referenced throughout novel
EXPLORE the play’s connection to trade and early globilization
- ‘In the spiced Indian air’: Trading coin and cloth in the empire of the Great Mughal
- Shakespeare’s Asia: Ships, spices, and porcelain
- written by Su Fang Ng, May’s guest speaker
- “More strange than true”: Finding America among the fairies
LISTEN to podcast episodes related to colonial history and impact
We would like to thank the following organization for its generous support of this program
Join us for a future event
On View: Elise Ansel
On View: Elise Ansel
In this small solo exhibition, artist Elise Ansel uses a feminist framework to reinterpret Henry Fuseli’s Macbeth Consulting the Vision of the Armed Head (1793), held in the Folger collection.
Fri, Oct 3 – Sun, Nov 9, 2025
"Songs from a Medieval Winter" with Muco
"Songs from a Medieval Winter" with Muco
Experience renditions of ballads and verse around the theme of winter with Muco. Following a presentation, Muco will perform Middle-English secular lyrics and Old-English verse accompanied by the inanga, a zither from East Africa.
Wed, Nov 12, 2025 at 7pm ET
On View: Missy Dunaway
On View: Missy Dunaway
In this small solo exhibition, artist Missy Dunaway investigates the connections between art, literature, history, and the natural world with her paintings of birds mentioned in Shakespeare's plays.
Fri, Nov 14, 2025 – Sun, Jan 4, 2026
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