RESOURCE: Shakespeare in the Parlor

Shakespeare in the Parlor

http://www.americanantiquarian.org/Exhibitions/Printsinparlor/shakespeare/index.htm

Shakespeare's works were quite popular within the United States from the time of the early colonies, but the first illustrated version of the bard's works did not appear until the 1840s. Between 1844 and 1847 Gulian C. Verplanck's "Shakespeare Plays" was published, complete with elaborate illustrations. This digital collection from the American Antiquarian Society brings together a range of illustrations of Shakespeare's works from a literary annual and gift books in the nineteenth century. The materials here are divided into different themes, including "Imagining the Man", "Comedies", "Women", and "Re-using Shakespeare". Visitors can click through each theme to learn about these various illustrations, which include depictions of Miranda, Juliet, and scenes from The Merry Wives. The exhibit is rounded out by a bibliography and an "About" area.

RESOURCE: English Companion

English Companion

 

http://englishcompanion.ning.com/

Where do English teachers go to ask questions and get help? Well, one online destination is the English Companion site. Visitors can sign up, and look through online groups that include "Digital Collaboration", "AP Lit and Language", and "Teaching Shakespeare". They can also participate in the online forums, which include forum threads like "Themed Units for Middle School" and "Interactive Notebooks". There are also a number of instructional applications and even a Twitter feed here. This site and its applications are compatible with all operating systems.

NEWS: 25,000 EEBO-TCP Texts Now Live

The University of Michigan Library is pleased to announce the completion of the first production phase of the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. On Wednesday, September 23, 2009, EEBO-TCP updated the Early English Books Online text collection with its 25, 355th book (view the text collection at http://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/).

Since 1999, the TCP has been forging a groundbreaking collaborative relationship between scholars, commercial publishers, and university libraries to undertake the important work of producing fully-searchable, TEI-compliant SGML/XML enhanced text editions from digital image collections, including ProQuest’s EEBO (as well as Gale’s Eighteenth Century Collections Online and Readex’s Evans Early American Imprint).

Reaching this ambitious goal relied on the tireless effort of many, across a range of fields:

EEBO-TCP partner institutions deserve special gratitude for their trust and support. Ultimately, 148 individual universities and colleges came together to help ensure EEBO-TCP texts were produced efficiently and affordably. In doing so, they distributed much of the financial load for this effort across a community and demonstrated how powerful cooperative agreements can be. Future generations of scholars (at partner institutions and beyond) will benefit greatly from their investment. ProQuest’s diligent and conscientious team was instrumental to TCP’s success, in supplying the book images themselves for conversion but also in recognizing the importance of reliably converted text. In the TCP’s foundational phases and its production routine, The Oxford University Digital Library administration and staff have provided guidance and insight at every turn. Likewise, the Michigan Library administration and staff have been the project’s bedrock in both shaping and carrying out the vision of the TCP. All told, each partnering component of the Text Creation Partnership has proven essential.

Having successfully delivered its 25,000 book, EEBO-TCP is now proceeding with its second phase of production, during which it aims to convert the remaining 44,000 unique monographs in the EEBO image collection. So far, 62 individual universities and colleges have committed to this second production phase. Additionally, a consortial arrangement has been struck with the JISC, which represents most UK institutions of higher learning. 

RESOURCE: Three Percent

Three Percent

http://www.rochester.edu/College/translation/threepercent/

Launched in the summer of 2007, the Three Percent website is designed to be a "destination for readers, editors, and translators interested in finding out about modern and contemporary international literature." The "three percent" in question refers to the fact that only 3% of all books published in the United States are works in translation. The site includes translations and reviews by students at the University of Rochester, and there are also a number of prominent guest reviewers and commentators. On their homepage, visitors can check out their "Recent Reviews" area, and then look over their "Upcoming Translations Events". Also, the site contains links to their RSS feeds and copies of their in-house newsletter. Visitors can also receive additional information and inspiration via the "Reading the World" podcast and their extensive lists of related weblogs, literary journals, and publishers.

RESOURCE: Mark Twain

Mark Twain

http://www.pbs.org/marktwain/index.html

What better way to know Mark Twain than through his writings? Well, a fine documentary film by Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan is a good place to start. This website is designed to complement their film on Twain which originally appeared on PBS. First-time visitors should start by clicking on the "Interactive Scrapbook" area. Here visitors can take a look through texts, photos, illustrations, and clippings from Twain's time that tell his own personal story and that of American in the late 19th century. Moving on, visitors can browse through some of his writings, take a look at a chronology of Twain's life, and look at a selection of related links. The educational resources here are top-notch, and teachers will find activities such as "A Writer's Inspiration" and "Tall Tales and Dark Sides" that can be used in a variety of history, journalism, or writing courses

RESOURCE: Evolving English: Podcasts [iTunes]

Evolving English: Podcasts [iTunes]

 

http://www.bl.uk/whatson/podcasts/exhibition/english/index.html

The British Library knows that the English language is far from a static entity, and in their exhibition "Evolving English" they have gathered a number of guests to talk about the world of English and its contemporary usage. There are five podcasts available and they present a cornucopia of material on the evolution of the English language, including: "How do jokes work?", "English: the World's Language?", and "Voices of Rap and Hip Hop". The "How do jokes work?" podcast is a good place to start and the panelists include C.P. Lee, Barry Cryer, and Tim Vine. The material is insightful, although visitors should note that the podcast on rap and hip hop occasionally uses rather strong language.

RESOURCE: Invitation to World Literature

Invitation to World Literature

http://www.learner.org/courses/worldlit/

Some readers may not need an invitation to world literature, but this very interesting and thoughtful website created by Annenberg Media offers the welcoming embrace of such works as the Bhagavad Gita and the epic of Gilgamesh. The site complements a 13-part video series, which offers up literature from "a range of eras, places, cultures, languages, and traditions." Your host for this adventure is Professor David Damrosch, and performers and artists such as Kristin Chenoweth, Philip Glass, and Wole Soyinka join him. The texts explored here include "My Name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk, "Candide" by Voltaire, and "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe. For each text, visitors can watch the 30-minute corresponding program, read selections from each work, and also explore the historical and cultural context of each work through interactive maps and other features.