Graham Holderness speaks on his new book, 'Tales from Shakespeare: Creative Collisions'

Professor Graham Holderness is currently in Australia and today visited the University of Sydney to give a seminar on work from his new book, Tales from Shakespeare: Creative Collisions. 

This work is fascinating as it intersects criticism with creativity, as well as considering contemporary conflicts and issues in relation to Shakespeare.

Today's seminar 'collided' Shakespeare with terrorism, looking particularly at a 2005 suicide bomber who targeted a performance of Twelfth Night in Doha. This generated illuminating discussions around not only the presence of terrorism, but the conception of 'imperial' Shakespeare as a western power, the role of imagination in constructing and reshaping how we understand both ourselves and that which we label 'other', how Twelfth Night operates on both literal and figurative borders, and how these discussions connect to our own local politics.

I think this book will not only prove enjoyable but may also be a really valuable learning tool for students.

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