The Shakespeare Unlimited podcast of the Folger Library is my favourite podcast about Shakespeare, not only for the content, but also for the perfect audio quality (not so common among podcasts).
In the latest episode they talk about the reopening of the library
This quality that the national mall is (monuments aside) an eclectic mixture of federal and private buildings continues to amaze me. Some of them are very QANGO like, clearly massively in receipt of national funding. Some not. They bear the name of founders, of private bodies. Some of them are guarded by federal employees. Some of them seem to have a coco-cola truck planted outside permanently.
The Smithsonian is funded from british money, vested through the surviving childless American resident, and grows by accretion of other indepently funded bodies (the Hirshhorn, the Freer which in turn relates to the Sackler but we don't talk about that...)
The folger is near, but not actually part. Behind the mall. Where we keep the coffee tins. "oh yes, we put the shakespear next to the coffee tin, in the fridge"
I used to imagine the LoC staff digging a tunnel and secretly liberating the books.
> The Smithsonian is funded from british money, vested through the surviving childless American resident, and grows by accretion of other indepently funded bodies (the Hirshhorn, the Freer which in turn relates to the Sackler but we don't talk about that...)
The Smithsonian is and always has been a quasi-public entity. It was founded by an act of Congress and is subsidized directly from the federal budget. I would compare to something like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
It's a British term for organizations that aren't governmental but which are largely funded by them. As you mention, the Smithsonian and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are basically this, although the term isn't used here. Especially in the case of the Smithsonian, many people may not even know that they aren't part of the Federal government, given that they run the famous free museums in Washington DC.
The revamped Folgers makes it much easier to get access to those books, no tunneling required.
I am really glad for that. I run a Shakespeare theater troupe just outside DC. I have performed at the Folger. And I couldn't get at the library because I wasn't an academic.
It's still not going to be every day that I need their very specific collection. But it's great to know that I can.
Indeed.
As the Greeks might feel seeing the Parthenon marbles in the British museum. Or the Benin bronzes. Asante gold. The Rapa Nui Moai. The list goes on. Priceless national treasures in the treasure of another nation.
I'm not sure the comparison is apt. The Brits who comprised America at the start did not forfeit their English heritage in 1776 or at any other time. Modern Americans share Shakespeare as a direct and pivotal cultural ancestor just as modern Brits do. The connection was never lost.
The Shakespeare Unlimited podcast of the Folger Library is my favourite podcast about Shakespeare, not only for the content, but also for the perfect audio quality (not so common among podcasts).
In the latest episode they talk about the reopening of the library
https://www.folger.edu/podcasts/shakespeare-unlimited/folger...
This quality that the national mall is (monuments aside) an eclectic mixture of federal and private buildings continues to amaze me. Some of them are very QANGO like, clearly massively in receipt of national funding. Some not. They bear the name of founders, of private bodies. Some of them are guarded by federal employees. Some of them seem to have a coco-cola truck planted outside permanently.
The Smithsonian is funded from british money, vested through the surviving childless American resident, and grows by accretion of other indepently funded bodies (the Hirshhorn, the Freer which in turn relates to the Sackler but we don't talk about that...)
The folger is near, but not actually part. Behind the mall. Where we keep the coffee tins. "oh yes, we put the shakespear next to the coffee tin, in the fridge"
I used to imagine the LoC staff digging a tunnel and secretly liberating the books.
> Some of them are very QANGO like
What does this mean?
> The Smithsonian is funded from british money, vested through the surviving childless American resident, and grows by accretion of other indepently funded bodies (the Hirshhorn, the Freer which in turn relates to the Sackler but we don't talk about that...)
The Smithsonian is and always has been a quasi-public entity. It was founded by an act of Congress and is subsidized directly from the federal budget. I would compare to something like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
>What does this mean?
It's a British term for organizations that aren't governmental but which are largely funded by them. As you mention, the Smithsonian and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting are basically this, although the term isn't used here. Especially in the case of the Smithsonian, many people may not even know that they aren't part of the Federal government, given that they run the famous free museums in Washington DC.
Quasi-NGO.
The revamped Folgers makes it much easier to get access to those books, no tunneling required.
I am really glad for that. I run a Shakespeare theater troupe just outside DC. I have performed at the Folger. And I couldn't get at the library because I wasn't an academic.
It's still not going to be every day that I need their very specific collection. But it's great to know that I can.
It's funny to see such a large library in the USA and not the UK.
Anything is possible if you have a Standard Oil fortune and your collecting obsession starts early in life.
Indeed. As the Greeks might feel seeing the Parthenon marbles in the British museum. Or the Benin bronzes. Asante gold. The Rapa Nui Moai. The list goes on. Priceless national treasures in the treasure of another nation.
I'm not sure the comparison is apt. The Brits who comprised America at the start did not forfeit their English heritage in 1776 or at any other time. Modern Americans share Shakespeare as a direct and pivotal cultural ancestor just as modern Brits do. The connection was never lost.
[flagged]
Of course NPR would find a way to connect this news to racial politics.