The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 19.0460 Wednesday, 13 August 2008
From: Larisa Kocic-Zambo <
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Date: Tuesday, 12 Aug 2008 09:21:42 +0200
Subject: Petition Regarding Arden Shakespeare's Termination of Patricia Parker
From the Reinstate Pat Parker Web Site
http://reinstatepatparker.com/Home.html
In July, the publisher of the Arden Shakespeare unjustly terminated Professor
Patricia Parker's editorship of a planned third edition of A Midsummer Night's
Dream, a project on which she has been working diligently for over ten years.
The results of her work on the edition thus far, which are both scholarly and
path-breaking, have met with widespread acclaim from academic Shakespeareans and
from the theater world. Pat's inability to complete the edition has resulted
largely from extraordinary delays -- often years at a time -- on the part of the
Arden's general editors and publisher in replying to her queries and requests
for instruction and clarification. The process as a whole casts doubt on the
professional procedures of the Arden's publishers and on the transparency and
accountability of its editorial process. Further, ownership of the Arden
Shakespeare has passed to a private equity company, and there is concern that
Pat's termination is in part an effort to elevate corporate profitability over
the principles of scholarly diligence and thoroughness. Beyond the personal
outrage that those of us who know and admire Pat inevitably feel, then, this
episode raises general issues of scholarly integrity and labor to which it is
crucial to respond. Pat's termination must be reversed, and she must be granted
the necessary time and editorial cooperation to bring her important work to a
successful conclusion.
MORE INFORMATION: Parker's Letter to Arden General Editors
An account of the roadblocks that Pat has faced in attempting to complete her
edition, along with details of the termination itself, are contained in her
letter to the Arden general editors, the text of which can be accessed here:
http://reinstatepatparker.com/Pats_Letter.html
Some of the early letters sent to the Arden editors can be read here:
http://reinstatepatparker.com/Letters_to_Arden.html
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Send an email -- as soon as possible -- to Margaret Bartley and Ronald Dunn
at Cengage Learning (publisher of the Arden Shakespeare) and cc both Arden's
general editors and the editors of individual volumes. This last step is
especially important, since Arden seems to be imposing restrictions on its
general editors about communicating on this matter. A list of the necessary
e-mail addresses, which can be copied and pasted into the address box of your
message, is available here: http://reinstatepatparker.com/Contact_Arden.html
Margaret Bartley should be the formal addressee of your letter.
2. Sign a petition to the publisher, expressing our dismay at Pat's termination
and urging her reinstatement. We need as many names as possible, so please sign
even if you have already written a letter to the publisher:
http://arden.petitionhost.com/
The Petition reads as follows,
To whom it may concern:
We, the undersigned, protest the unjust termination of Patricia Parker as editor
of the Arden Shakespeare's planned third edition of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Professor Parker's sterling reputation, as well as the wide acclaim her work on
the edition has thus far received in both the academic and theatrical worlds,
impels us to deplore the possible loss of a major new edition of Shakespeare's
play -- one that promises significantly to enrich critical discussion and
theatrical performance. We are concerned as well that a personal and
professional injustice has been done to Professor Parker. The circumstances of
her dismissal, along with the record of problems emanating from Arden that
impeded progress on the edition, cast doubt on the professionalism with which
she was treated, and on the editorial transparency and accountability of the
Arden Shakespeare in this matter. Finally, the fact that the Arden Shakespeare
has recently been purchased by a private equity company in the latest of a
series of corporate publishers, raises concerns that commercial profitability
may be trumping a commitment to scholarly thoroughness and diligence. We fear
that the excellent repute of the Arden Shakespeare, on which generations of
scholars and Shakespeare lovers have come to rely, may be tarnished by this episode.
For all of the above reasons, we the undersigned urge the publishers of the
Arden Shakespeare to reinstate Patricia Parker as editor of this play, and to
give her the necessary time and editorial cooperation to bring her important new
edition to a successful completion.
http://arden.petitionhost.com/
[Editor's Note: After reading all of the information provided at the above site,
any reasonable person should be shocked at the injustice of Prof. Parker's
dismissal as editor of the Arden 3 _A Midsummer Night's Dream_. I encourage all
SHAKSPEReans to visit this site, read the information provided, reflect upon it,
and sign the petition on Prof. Parker's behalf. --Hardy M. Cook, Editor of
SHAKSPER, Professor of English]
_______________________________________________________________
S H A K S P E R: The Global Shakespeare Discussion List
Hardy M. Cook,
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The S H A K S P E R Web Site <http://www.shaksper.net>
DISCLAIMER: Although SHAKSPER is a moderated discussion list, the opinions
expressed on it are the sole property of the poster, and the editor assumes no
responsibility for them.
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