WAMU 88.5 : Metro Connection

'Queering' the Bard: The World of Shakesqueer

Play associated audio
Shakesqueer author Madhavi Menon says Shakespeare can be "queered"... and queer theory can be "Shaken."
Jeff Watts
Shakesqueer author Madhavi Menon says Shakespeare can be "queered"... and queer theory can be "Shaken."

Queer theory challenges all sorts of things, especially our ideas about our "natural" identities. American University literature professor Madhavi Menon takes this outside-the-box thinking and applies it to William Shakespeare in her new book, Shakesqueer: A Queer Companion to the Complete Works of Shakespeare. Rebecca Sheir talks with Menon about how she feels Shakespeare can be "queered," and how, in turn, queer theory can be "Shaken."

[Music: "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" by Cole Porter from Kiss Me, Kate: New Broadway Cast Recording]

NPR

Not My Job: Three Headless Chicken Questions For Alice Cooper

We've invited the heavy metal rocker to answer three questions about Mike, a chicken in the 1940s who lost his head and still went on to achieve fame and fortune.
NPR

'Picture Cook': Drawings Are The Key Ingredients In These Recipes

Designer Katie Shelly's upcoming cookbook offers 50 illustrated recipe "blueprints" for basic meals — from simple snacks to more hefty dishes like eggplant Parmesan. She hopes they'll inspire any level of cook to improvise in the kitchen.
NPR

Why The IRS Scandal Is Built To Last

Of all the current Washington scandals, the one involving the IRS appears to have the most staying power. It rolls into one package an agency many love to hate, partisan suspicions and the American appetite for conspiracies.
NPR

Book News: Amazon May Be Called Before Parliament Over Taxes

Also: AARP and The Nation join a growing list of ebook publishers; Hilary Mantel on Jane Austen; Anne Applebaum on Sheryl Sandberg.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.