From a Hot Pepper Shakespeare contest to a Romeo and Juliet masquerade ball, the party doesn’t stop. These First Folio host sites are living it up, celebrating 400 years of Shakespeare across the United States.

Growing up on the frontier, Abraham Lincoln had few books to read in his early days—but among them were the works of Shakespeare, which Lincoln cherished throughout his life. The actor Joseph Jefferson later told the story of how Lincoln, as a young lawyer, successfully defended his father’s Illinois theater when a religious revival threatened… Continue Reading »

Whether you’re giving a valentine to a sweetheart or a friend, why not say it with Shakespeare? We have a new set of beautifully illustrated Shakespeare valentines for you, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

This year we remember the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. But 1616 also saw the passing of another great writer: Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra, who we know best as the author of Don Quijote. As Shakespeare left an indelible mark on the English language, Spanish has been referred to as “la… Continue Reading »

Curious about the life of the man from Stratford-upon-Avon? You can now turn to a new website, Shakespeare Documented, which launched January 20. Featuring documents from more than 30 institutions in the United States and the United Kingdom, it is the largest and most authoritative resource for learning about primary sources that document the life… Continue Reading »

Over the course of 2016, the Folger Shakespeare Library is sending a First Folio to all 50 states, plus Puerto Rico and Washington, DC. Each month we’ll be checking in on the progress of this traveling exhibition, First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare.