Yesterday, at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, The English Department Creative Writing Program along with The Friends of the Lehigh Univeristy Libraries sponsored an event called Sonnet Slam! This event featured readings of poetry, a celebration of the student literary magazine Amaranth, and the 400th year of Shakesepeare’s life and showcased a display of extraordinary importance for lovers of Shakespeare.
The event was held in the Bayer Galleria, a beautiful room, filled with special holdings in its bookshelves, an old fireplace, plenty of seating, and a very important display. Lehigh University has an extraordinary collection of early Shakespeare texts: in the case were the First Folio, the Second Folio, the Third Folio, and the Fourth Folio.
Shakespeare is one of my main areas of study, and as a Shakespearean, viewing these rare and important volumes was nearly a sacred experience. I have loved Shakespeare since I was a teenager; I have studied his work, loved reading the plays and poetry, acted in some plays, directed a play, and taught his work. Having been intricately connected with Shakespeare, being able to see these early texts was a moving and deeply powerful experience.
When the event began, I read two sonnets and had fun with that. When I was younger, I had a goal to memorize all of them, but let’s say that was not entirely successful! Then undergraduate students, a graduate student who is the advisor for the literary magazine and an excellent poet, and a professor read. At that point, I had to leave to prepare to teach my upcoming class, but it was a wonderful and moving experience.
I love your description of the event and your great love of Shakespeare’s work, inspirational to all of us who wish we could have been there too. Thank you for posting this wonderful piece.
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You are very welcome!
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That sounds like a fabulous experience, makes me want to road trip to Lehigh!
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thank you!
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Wow! You wanted to memorize all the sonnets? That´s wonderful! Me too, but I only managed one;) (I still know it by heart, so that´s something I believe;) I know exactly what you mean – I felt the same thing when seeing the Folio in the V&A in London! It was so amazing! Have a great weekend! Sarah
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Charles! This really must have been close to a sacred experience for you. I’m so glad. How close could you get to the Folios? Close enough to read the text? Lehigh is such a beautiful school (not to mention a great academic institution), and I can imagine it was a perfect venue for the event. And, you read two sonnets! Just wonderful.
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Thank you! We were not able to touch the books, because they were in a glass case, but yes, I could read the opened pages!
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That must have been wonderful.
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It was wonderful!
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I bet it was a sacred experience to see and read from these texts. What a great way to celebrate his birthday!
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It was extraordinary!
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What I like about Shakespeare is that he is a kind of Ground Zero for writers, a creative compass…when you find yourself drifting off-mark, feeling creatively confused, reading The Bard brings everything back into focus… It’s not that you feel compelled to mimic him, but that standing on his precedent, you can see ALL of the possibilities, and you can be filled with a renewed sense of adventure.
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Yes, Shakespeare gives us all of life, and we learn from him.
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