Native Shakespeares

Explored in this essay collection is how Shakespeare is rewritten, reinscribed and translated to fit within the local tradition, values, and languages of the world's various communities and cultures. Contributors show that Shakespeare, regardless of the medium - theater, pedagogy, or literary studies - is commonly 'rooted' in the local customs of a people in ways that challenge the notion that his drama promotes a Western idealism. Native Shakespeares examines how the persistent indigenization of Shakespeare complicates the traditional vision of his work as a voice of Western culture and colonial hegemony. The international range of the collection and the focus on indigenous practices distinguishes Native Shakespeares from other available texts.

'Native Shakespeares advances conversations about the local as well as global "habitation" of Shakespeare. The essays assembled here illuminate the intimacies that have been forged between Shakespeare's works and diverse communities and individuals. They amplify the voices of intellectuals, activists, performers, writers and others - including prison inmates - who both undercut and forge the global Shakespeare industry.' Ania Loomba, Univesity of Pennsylvania, USA 'Lively and expansive, this collection tracks Shakespeare’s unexpected travels across the globe and through a range of social practices. From Québec to Havana, Bombay to Sudan, these essays locate Shakespeare at the center of the most important nationalist and postcolonial debates about identity, democracy, the legacy of colonialism and the growth of nation states. Native Shakespeares is a timely and insightful reminder of the enduring, but always changing, legacy of the bard.' Claire Sponsler, University of Iowa, USA and author of Ritual Imports: Performing Medieval Drama in America ’...interesting, exciting scholarship...Recommended.’ Choice ’Strong contributions from a variety of scholars working in a variety of fields, an introduction and afterword that stand as excellent essays in and of themselves, and a sense of cohesion rare in essay collections make this volume a worthwhile addition to the field.’ Borrowers and Lenders '... this book is a worthwhile contribution to our continuing critical fascination with global appropriations of Shakespeare. ' Sixteenth Century Journal 'This is an excellent collection of twelve essays, plus introduction and afterword. It is stimulating, erudite, and very readable. Most importantly it has coherence and the links between the essays make this a very useful and worthwhile collection. ... It is also a consistently high-value volume in that, to my mind, each essay clearly deserves its pages in the volume.' Parergon

Craig Dionne is Professor of English Literature at Eastern Michigan University, USA. Parmita Kapadia is Assistant Professor in the Department of Literature and Language at Northern Kentucky University, USA.