The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 23.143 Monday, 2 April 2012
From: Michael Best <
Date: Friday, 30 Mar 2012 09:52:42 -0700
Subject: Internet Shakespeare Editions Update
[Editor’s Notes: I have, with permission, edited the following from a Progress Report to the Editors of ISE editions from Michael Best, the Coordinating Editor, into an update of activities with the Internet Shakespeare Editions project: http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/. Disclaimer: I am a member of ISE Editorial Board and an editor, thanks to the ongoing patience of the Coordinating Editor. –Hardy M. Cook]
New Appointments
It has been our good fortune to make two important appointments:
1. Alex Huang has accepted the position of Performance Editor.
Alex brings remarkable energy and experience to the position. You can see a fine example of his work, in association with Peter Donaldson, in Shakespeare Performance in Asia (http://web.mit.edu/shakespeare/asia/).
2. Janelle Jenstad has accepted the position of Assistant Coordinating Editor.
Janelle is Associate Professor at the University of Victoria, and has a great deal of experience both in Early Modern drama and Digital Humanities. Her project on the Map of Early Modern London (http://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/) is an immensely useful resource both for literary and historical studies, and she is currently embarking on an edition of The Merchant of Venice for the ISE.
Broadview Editions
David Bevington’s As You Like It is in print, and John Cox’s Julius Caesar well on the way. Congratulations to both, and thanks to David for the work he put into blazing a trail for the rest of us. Two plays are close to completion for final submission: Henry IV, Part One (Rosemary Gaby) and Twelfth Night (David Carnegie and Mark Houlahan). Two additional plays should be ready in a couple of months: Henry V (James Mardock) and The Tempest (Paul Yachnin and Brent Whitted).
Progress on Online Plays
A good many plays are adding incremental improvements, with several close to a stage where the editors will be submitting proposals to Broadview. Overall I see a strong momentum.
Two proposals for editions have been approved this last year:
1. The Merchant of Venice (Janelle Jenstad)
2. Henry IV, Part Two (Rosemary Gaby)
Two additional proposals, for Romeo and Juliet and Henry VIII, are currently under consideration.
Improvements on the Site
We have recently moved to a new, more powerful server.
A number of technical developments are being experimented with, including the display of variants, animation of intransigent ambiguities, variant lineation between Q1 and F, and an “inclusive” text that displays all variants on a single interface.
Fundraising
Finally, I am pleased to announce that we have launched our “Making Waves Fundraising Campaign.” The aim is to raise an endowment of 1.5 million dollars to provide continuing stability in funding the site’s maintenance without relying on the vagaries of granting agencies. We are asking university libraries to become “Friends of the ISE” by contributing a membership fee; subscribing institutions gain some additional benefits—a “print” view of each page, and a pop-up citation for inclusion in research essays.
http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Foyer/makingwaves/
On the page “Why Participate?” you can download a letter to librarians and a brochure, both in PDF format.
Michael Best
Coordinating Editor, Internet Shakespeare Editions
<http://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/>
Department of English, University of Victoria
Victoria B.C. V8W 3W1, Canada.