The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 21.0078  Tuesday, 23 February 2010

 

From:         John Briggs <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.>

Date:         February 17, 2010 5:06:23 PM EST

Subject: 21.0073  Musings on the Arden Shakespeare

Comment:      Re: SHK 21.0073  Musings on the Arden Shakespeare

 

Hardy M. Cook wrote: 

 

>Whereas to all appearances Cengage Learning was acting as venture 

>capitalists, divesting itself of the Arden Shakespeare after an 

>amazingly short-time as its publisher; however, I must take 

>exception with Briggs's implication that Professor Patricia 

>Parker's "sacking" by Cengage Learning was a consequence of her 

>being a "wayward" editor. Those who are familiar with Parker's 

>work on her edition of _A Midsummer's Night Dream_ suspect that 

>something other than her not meeting impossibly stated deadlines 

>was behind her contact's being cancelled [...]

 

The most likely explanation is that it was done "pour encourager les autres". It is certain that Arden regarded her as "wayward" -- by her own admission both the Arden office and the general editors had ceased communicating with her some years previously.

 

John Briggs

 

[Editor's Note: I have no idea where John Briggs is getting his information, but people that I have talked to paint an entirely different picture regarding "communicating" and "deadlines." Perhaps a message was being sent, but I suspect that the message most likely had to do with Professor Parker's innovative approach to the text than any other reason. What is disappointing to some of us is that Parker appears to be uncovering aspects of the text previously not discussed and generating an excitement about this text comparable to the early discussions of the multi-text Lears and Hamlets. -HMCook]

 

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