Brandi K. Adams
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bkadams.bsky.social
Brandi K. Adams
@bkadams.bsky.social
1.8K followers 1.2K following 130 posts
I am an Assistant Professor of English Literature at Arizona State University who works on book history, premodern critical race studies and early modern English drama. I spend a lot of time with Barnabe, an adorable dog. These posts are my opinion.
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bkadams.bsky.social
For those of you going to Denver’s SAA, please consider joining @roaringgirle.bsky.social and me to talk about the importance of public libraries, Shakespeare, and other early modern literature. There’s so much to consider in our current political climate:
[ SEMINAR • SAA 2026 ] SHAKESPEARE & PUBLIC LIBRARIES This seminar examines the role of public libraries (local, national and international) in the preservation, dissemination, and study of the books and other media that transmit works by Shakespeare and other early modern writers. The recent identification of two books once owned by John Milton—a Shakespeare First Folio and a copy of Holinshed's Chronicles-at two American public libraries (The Free Library of Philadelphia and the Phoenix Public Library, respectively) and the presence of another of Milton's books (a sammelband of early Italian editions) at a third (The New York Public Library) invites us to acknowledge and rethink an implicit bias towards well-funded elite libraries and collections as privileged sites of textual and historical research. How might our knowledge of early modern textual history and the history of early modern books in the longue durée change with greater consideration of public collections? What do (and could) scholarly partnerships with public libraries look like-and what can they achieve in terms of bolstering the value of humanistic inquiry? How might the histories of (and transmitted by) the early modern books in these collections, which we are uniquely positioned to tell, relate to the specific local communities that they serve? In this way, the seminar is also interested in the ways that public libraries feature Shakespeare in the promotion of their circulating collections, educational programming, and public events, as many U.S. public libraries did during the quatercentenaries of Shakespeare's death in 2016 and of the publication of the first folio in 2023. While the idea for this seminar emerges from our experiences working in American public libraries, we would welcome contributions from scholars and librarians considering the role of public libraries in Shakespeare and early modern studies in various different regional and national traditions.
August 11, 2025 at 2:42 AM
bkadams.bsky.social
If you’re planning to attend @saaupdates.bsky.social in Denver next year, consider joining @roaringgirle.bsky.social and me for a seminar on Shakespeare & Public Libraries. Public libraries are crucial to our understanding of collection histories of all kinds of books and material. We need them!
[ SEMINAR • SAA 2026 ] SHAKESPEARE & PUBLIC LIBRARIES This seminar examines the role of public libraries (local, national and international) in the preservation, dissemination, and study of the books and other media that transmit works by Shakespeare and other early modern writers. The recent identification of two books once owned by John Milton—a Shakespeare First Folio and a copy of Holinshed's Chronicles-at two American public libraries (The Free Library of Philadelphia and the Phoenix Public Library, respectively) and the presence of another of Milton's books (a sammelband of early Italian editions) at a third (The New York Public Library) invites us to acknowledge and rethink an implicit bias towards well-funded elite libraries and collections as privileged sites of textual and historical research. How might our knowledge of early modern textual history and the history of early modern books in the longue durée change with greater consideration of public collections? What do (and could) scholarly partnerships with public libraries look like-and what can they achieve in terms of bolstering the value of humanistic inquiry? How might the histories of (and transmitted by) the early modern books in these collections, which we are uniquely positioned to tell, relate to the specific local communities that they serve? In this way, the seminar is also interested in the ways that public libraries feature Shakespeare in the promotion of their circulating collections, educational programming, and public events, as many U.S. public libraries did during the quatercentenaries of Shakespeare's death in 2016 and of the publication of the first folio in 2023. While the idea for this seminar emerges from our experiences working in American public libraries, we would welcome contributions from scholars and librarians considering the role of public libraries in Shakespeare and early modern studies in various different regional and national traditions.
May 17, 2025 at 4:27 PM
bkadams.bsky.social
Barnabe was excited to finally get a chance to take a look at the new Malone edition of The Devil’s Charter. He immediately relaxed when he saw that it was edited by Proudfoot and Woudhuysen.
Black and white dog with a copy of The Devil’s Charter by Barnabe Barnes
May 7, 2025 at 3:32 PM
bkadams.bsky.social
Happy UK publication day to the first of many amazing New Oxford Shakespeare plays! Here’s Julius Caesar (with my intro) pictured @shakespearesglobe.bsky.social! Thanks to @oldfortunatus.bsky.social for her brilliant work as general editor and to Sarah Neville for her precise editing of the text.
photo of paperback of Julius Caesar sitting on wood stage floor. The book odd read with the image of a lion, the spqr crest, the Roman Capitol and six hands with bloody knives.
February 13, 2025 at 2:33 PM
bkadams.bsky.social
On what has been one of the hardest semesters ever personally, my super kind students have been so kind, thoughtful, and such a joy. I’ve learned so much from them.
Chocolate Chip cookies from a student in a clear plastic bag with the label “Thank you and Happy Holidays”
December 5, 2024 at 6:33 PM
bkadams.bsky.social
Happy third birthday, Barnabe! Thanks for only chewing on one book ever (when you were a baby)—despite being named after a notorious playwright. 😆
November 18, 2024 at 5:18 PM
bkadams.bsky.social
I’m going to start posting more here. I’ll start with all photo from my writing retreat. It was peaceful there—like it peaceful here.
June 11, 2024 at 6:15 AM
bkadams.bsky.social
If you had told me 10 years ago that one day 34 students and I would be sitting in the dark looking at a projected title page of the first quarto of Antonio’s Revenge I would have said “Impossible. Who would let me teach that?” Well, here we are. 🤩
February 23, 2024 at 6:07 AM
bkadams.bsky.social
I am so excited to read @drdadabhoy.bsky.social’s forthcoming book in which she will teach us new and important ways to read and think about Shakespeare’s plays through the “fluid waters of the Muslim Mediterranean.” Get ready to learn, y’all! ♥️♥️
February 11, 2024 at 12:39 AM
bkadams.bsky.social
The Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare and Race is here! There are so many brilliant chapters for you to read including one I wrote entitled Editing Shakespeare and Race. academic.oup.com/edited-volum...
January 31, 2024 at 8:55 PM
bkadams.bsky.social
Thanks to @literasyme.bsky.social for inviting me to be a part of a First Folio celebration! He’s a brilliant editor, writer, and friend. Congrats to everyone on a beautiful issue of Shakespeare Quarterly!
December 19, 2023 at 5:48 PM
bkadams.bsky.social
Happy International Dog day from this energetic guy!
Barnabe, a black and white australian cattle dog/german shorthaired pointer mix
August 27, 2023 at 12:28 AM
bkadams.bsky.social
Today I managed to finish the syllabus for the course I am teaching on The Literature of Racial Passing. Barnabe was a very good boy today and played with his toys and let me finish my work!
Photo of books including: Clotel; The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man; Quicksand and Passing; The Great Gatsby; Convenience Store Woman; The White Girl; and Caucasia. Black, brown, and white dog smiling for the camera
August 12, 2023 at 3:11 AM
bkadams.bsky.social
If you like the play Arden of Faversham—and who doesn’t—you should check out this new critical reader coming out next week. I have an article on Black Will. I look at him in a new way.
Photo of book called Arden of Faversham A Critical Reader Photo of title page to my article ‘What manner of man was he?’ Will and the making of archival Blackness in Arden of Faversham. A subtitle, Black Wills in the English archives—a shout out to amazing scholar Imtiaz Habib.
July 19, 2023 at 10:08 PM
bkadams.bsky.social
I invite you to consider applying to be the next chair of ASU English. If you get the job, you can hang out with me and Barnabe (only if you want to). https://apply.interfolio.com/127658
Barnabe—a black, white, and brown dog—looks at me with askance. I assure him we will get a good chair.
July 11, 2023 at 5:52 PM
bkadams.bsky.social
Last week, I went to the Barton-Barr library in Central Phoenix and they have a 1632 Shakespeare Folio. It has marginalia! I keep saying that I don’t *really* work on Shakespeare and yet…
A copy of the second folio of Shakespeare’s plays (1632) with contemporary handwriting in the outside right margin.
July 11, 2023 at 3:46 PM