O'Farrell's 'Hamnet' wins book critics award for fiction
FILE - Author Maggie O'Farrell poses for the media at the Costa book awards in London on Jan. 25, 2011. O'Farrell's "Hamnet," an imagined take on the death of Shakespeare's son from the bubonic plague, has won the National Book Critics Circle prize for fiction. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)NEW YORK โ Maggie O'Farrell's โHamnet,โ an imagined take on the death of Shakespeare's son from the bubonic plague, has won the National Book Critics Circle prize for fiction. โHamnet,โ an unfortunately well timed story for the current pandemic, explores the impact of the boy's illness and death on his family. The book critics circle was founded in 1974 and has hundreds of members around the country.
The dark and mysterious origins of Valentineโs Day
Valentineโs Day -- the holiday made for a Hallmark movie. Though, Chaucerโs mention of Valentineโs Day in this poem is also disputed. Slowly, but surely, Valentineโs Day started getting sweeter. (Wikipedia Commons)Shakespeare romanticized Valentineโs Day in his work and it began to really take off in Britain and in Europe. And then boom - Hallmark hit the map in 1913, and started mass producing Valentineโs Day cards.
Shakespeare in Detroit connects grade school students to theater
DETROIT โ The director of a new program called Shakespeare STEAM is using the stage to give Detroit students the tools they need to succeed -- something she said she missed out on in school. Shakespeare in Detroit has dedicated its entire season to an educational pilot program that teaches children about Shakespeare and everything that goes into putting on the play. Shakespeare in Detroit is connecting grade school children to theater by providing vocational and artistic training in its program, called โShakespeare STEAM.โAs the artistic director and a graduate of Detroit Public Schools, the program is personal for White. โI wanted to give the opportunity for kids who sat in the seats that I once sat in to have the opportunity to learn everything about theater,โ White said. There is a matinee at 12:15 p.m. Saturday at the Detroit School of Arts.