Another #ShakespeareDay Is Done

~ duane

*phew!*

So, how was your day?

This year I succeeded in publishing a new record *28* stories.  And you know what?  I’m pretty sure that a silly picture I tweeted in the middle of the day got more traffic than all of those stories combined.  But that’s ok.  Tweets are temporary, posts are forever.

Here’s a quick recap of the day’s action, since so many posts will have scrolled into the archives before most people get to see them:

  1. My Shakespeare, Rise!
  2. Cover Songs and Sampling
  3. Playing Against Type
  4. Deconstructing Shakespeare
  5. Theme Song Shakespeare : And The Rest!
  6. The Master
  7. A Game! Novel Perspective
  8. Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music
  9. A New Sonnets to Music Collection
  10. WIN One of the Beautiful Shakespeare Signature Series, Free!
  11. Review : Undiscovered Country by Lin Enger
  12. Synetic Shakespeare
  13. “Shakespeare” by Jaden Smith
  14. Romeo & Juliet Trailer
  15. Drive-by Earl of Oxford Jokes
  16. Review : Shakespeare Shaken
  17. Review : So Long, Shakespeare
  18. Willie “Shakespeare” Joel’s Greatest Hits
  19. Kinderbard
  20. Dreaming in Shakespeare (A Continuing Series)
  21. Tales from Shakespeare : Illustrated
  22. Why Are Some Plays Better Recognized Than Others?
  23. Pen Us A Play You’re The Stratford Man
  24. Review : The Wednesday Wars
  25. Rocky Shakespeare III
  26. What Shakespeare Means To Me
  27. Is Shakespeare Universal? Show Your Support!
  28. Why Should I?
This year I’m trying something a little different. I’m running a fundraiser that I’m calling “Shakespeare is Universal.”  In the style of Kickstarter, this company Teespring produces a much higher quality product at a lower price than any other outlet I’ve yet found.  The trick is that you need to get a minimum number of people to sign up for the campaign (i.e. reserve a shirt) by a certain time.  By working in bulk quantities the prices stay low, without sacrificing the quality. 
I am hoping that loyal readers who have enjoyed the blog and everything I’ve done for the cause of Shakespeare over the years will do me the honor of joining the campaign.  There’s three good reasons I’d really like to see this latest effort of mine succeed. First, there’s the obvious practical reason that if I have money I can spend it on more cool Shakespeare things. I don’t believe in lying about that or trying to hide it.
Second, I think it’s a nice shirt.  I made this image awhile ago by taking “To be or not to be” and translating it into as many languages as I could find, and had a graphic designer friend help me with the layout.  When you look at the patterns and realize how you can tell what it says even when you can’t speak the language you begin to see Shakespeare as this Rosetta Stone that enables communication between people all around the world. I think that’s a very cool idea.  When we talk about “Shakespeare for everyone” that doesn’t just mean English speakers.
Lastly there’s a reason of personal importance to me.  If the campaign succeeds, that will mean that there’s at least a hundred people out there who’ll be wearing shirts that identify them as fellow Shakespeare geeks.  One day I will bump into somebody in the wild who is wearing one of them, and that will be an amazing milestone for me, because my bond with that person will be deep and it will be instant, yet again confirming that power that Shakespeare brings out in all of us.

Published by duane

7 thoughts on “Another #ShakespeareDay Is Done”

  4. Thanks everybody! Please remember to actually sign up at the site and get your name on the list, that's only way we can count people! And then tell your friends so we get more people! We're off to a good start but still have a long way to go!

    Reply

  6. I do want to get the shirt, I love it, but I'm not sure about which size to order (small or medium). Do you have any more information about the specific shirt style you chose?

    Reply

  7. Thanks for all the comments, Meg – please don't forget to email me from your real address so I can include your entries in the contest!

    Regarding the shirt, there's a 'Size info' link on the page (right at the end of the description, above the Buy button). I can't link you to it, it's one of those popup thingies.

    As for the shirt itself you can get more information here, including reviews:

    http://www.jiffyshirts.com/canvas-3001C.html

    I hope that helps, and encourages you to buy (and tell your friends so we can all get one!)

    Thanks!

    Reply

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