emma poltrack

Looking for summer reading? Try a novel based on Romeo and Juliet, from a San Diege restaurant feud to a zombie horror tale to a story about first love.

It’s the heart of summer—and the perfect time to explore some recommended beach reads from the annals of our Folger Book Club!

A brief history of Folger Theatre.

A brief look at Shakespeare’s most famous stage direction.

Meet Robert “Romeo” Coates, a 19th century gent better known for his antics (and fashion sense) than his acting.

Folger resources related to Folger resources related to 19th-century Shakespeare performance and the Booth family to accompany the February 2023 book club discussion of Booth.

Introductory information on the February 2023 Folger Book Club selection, Karen Joy Fowler’s intimate portrayal of an American family whose celebrity turned to infamy,

Folger resources related to food and food pathways to accompany the December 2022 book club discussion of Black Cake.

Introductory information on this multi-generational family story, the December 2022 Folger Book Club selection.

We’re helping you prepare for DC Public Library’s Evil Laugh Contest with some deviously delightful Shakespeare lines you can use in your performance.

Held on the first Thursday of the month, the Folger’s virtual book club is free and open to all. Here, Dr. emma poltrack, shares items she presented on September 8, 2022 as an introduction to Learwife by J.R. Thorp.

In a humorous post from 2017, web comic creator Mya Gosling mused about the absence of mothers in Shakespeare’s plays. Employing her signature stick-figure style, she presented a series of single-panel comics that put these absent maternal figures back in…