“I Have a Kind Soul That Would Give You Thanks”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Although I could fill this page with Shakespearean expressions of gratitude like those in Chapter Five, I’m going to try for a few paragraphs to resist the temptation, and to acknowledge the debts I owe some important people with words all my own.

First, to all the friends and loved ones whose life occasions I’ve cited as exemplars of how Shakespeare’s eloquence suits any situation, my thanks for letting me expose your private emotions to public light. And to everyone in my life who’s asked me to recommend a Bardism over the years, I couldn’t have put this together without you.

I wouldn’t have put this together without the urging and confidence of my dear friend Ben Sherwood. By way of thanks, I can only tell him that I hope with all my might that what I’ve produced lives up to what he knew it could be.

The publishing professionals who’ve supported me through the writing of this book have been superb in every way. To the great people at ICM—Katharine Cluverius, who got it started; Kate Lee, who closed the deal; and Sam Cohn, who makes everything happen—thank you. To Anne Cole at Collins, whose refined sensibility, clear head, great gentleness, and infinite patience have been nothing short of a godsend—thank you.

I wrote this book during a peripatetic period in my life. As a result, I imposed on the hospitality of libraries on both coasts of this country, and all sorts of random places in between. My thanks to the librarians and staffs of nearly two dozen of our finest temples to knowledge, and about fifty of the New York metropolitan area’s best cafés and greasy spoons.

The staff of the Shakespeare Initiative at the Public Theater took up a lot of the slack created by my writing schedule, and I’m grateful. Thanks also to Oskar Eustis, a great Shakespearean, and to all the artists and teachers in my theater life, from whom I’ve learned so much about why Bardisms are so special.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t convey my deep gratitude to William Shakespeare, who’s enriched my life in countless ways, and who’s always there when I need him. If only he’d listen to me and shave that crazy moustache…

Finally, my infinite, endless, huge thanks to my two best girls, Hilit and Tillirose. They made real sacrifices so that these pages could make their way into the world, and I’ll never forget it. What’s least in them is more than all that’s in any RosalindPortiaViola-HermioneKatherineCeliaBeatriceHeroVenusHermiaPerditaMarina DesdemonaCleopatraCressidaMirandaSilviaJuliaHelenaOlivia ConstanceAnneVirgiliaJulietCalphurniaOpheliaGertrudeImogenCordelia. I love you, Hilit. I love you, Tillirose. Up-up!

BGE
Brooklyn, 2008