Dana GIOIA, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, has initiated a nationwide program, Shakespeare in American Communities, to revive teaching and appreciation of the Bard.DANA GIOIA Michael Dana Gioia (born December 24, 1950) is an American poet and critic who retired early from his career as a corporate executive at General Foods to write full time. Since January 29, 2003, he has been chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, the United States , chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Independent agency of the U.S. government that supports the creation, dissemination, and performance of the arts. It was created by the U.S. , has initiated a nationwide program, Shakespeare in American Communities, to revive teaching and appreciation of the Bard. Among the materials of this great project is a wonderful CD, Teaching Shakespeare, with commentary by scholars and performances of some of the great soliloquies. Teaching Shakespeare is designed to help high-school teachers introduce their students to the playwright; the Arts Endowment is making the CD and other materials available upon request, free of charge, to teachers, many of whom might themselves welcome a refresher course on this material. As Gioia points out in his narration, Shakespeare used to be the text, along with the King James Bible, of all Americans. In the 20th century, Shakespeare began to be perceived as the exclusive preserve of elite, "high" culture--of scholars and snobs. It is the mission of Gioia and his Endowment to remedy this misfortune. The CD features readings by James Earl Jones Earl Jones may refer to:
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson, Gibson U.S.A., United States, United States of America, US, USA, America, the States, U.S. , Jane Alexander, and others. Scholars Harold Bloom ''' Harold Bloom (born July 11, 1930) is an American professor and prominent literary and cultural critic. Bloom defended 19th-century Romantic poets at a time when their reputations stood at a low ebb, has constructed controversial theories of poetic influence, and and George T. Wright and Folger Library director Gail Kern Paster, among others, offer commentary on meter, language, the sonnets, and "Shakespeare's psychology." The result is an engaging and instructive primer. Most delightful are the three very different renderings of the "To be or not to be" speech by Jones, Gibson, and Michael York Michael or Mike York may refer to:
In his introduction, Gioia observes that "culture is not made up of institutions.... Culture is human energy." Nowhere is this energy more palpably present than in the work of Shakespeare. Gioia is fighting an uphill battle Uphill Battle was an metalcore band with elements of grindcore and noisecore. The group was based out of Santa Barbara, California, USA. History Uphill Battle got some recognition releasing their self-titled record on Relapse Records. against general ignorance of the arts and active opposition to teaching traditional subjects. But those subjects, as illustrated by this CD, never lose their hold over our souls. |
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