Paul Adrian Fried / HAMLET'S BIBLE

Tomorrow, March 7 at 9 a.m. CST, KYMN Radio in Northfield, Minnesota, will broadcast an interview of me, pre-recorded by Betsy Spethman and Andrew Rossow of ArtMakers (Disabilities - Arts - Community). Andrew has been one of my music students for at least nine or 10 years; he is blind and handicapped, so he is unable to play guitar, but he can play a number of other musical instruments, including autoharp (the focus of our lessons). He has a great ear for music, remembers chords and lyrics very well, and can transpose on the fly. Andrew’s parents, Jim Rossow and Betsy Spethman, started the organization, ArtMakers, to help people with disabilities have opportunities to be involved in arts and community. Betsy and Andrew regularly interview people in Northfield, Minnesota, a two-college town (where I live, also home to St. Olaf and Carleton colleges); the interviews are broadcast and archived on KYMN Radio in a show called “Townies Radio.” Andrew and his father Jim performed together i...

"O cursed spite / That ever I was born to set it right!" —What do Shakespeare’s Hamlet and “Star Wars: Rogue One” have in common that Hamlet and Disney’s “The Lion King” do not? (Hint: It's not about a "nunnery.") When “Lion King” opened (1994), one oft-quoted reviewer called it “Hamlet on the Serengeti.” It’s obvious: writers for the animated feature modeled their story after Shakespeare’s play. Shakespeare’s Hamlet begins with talk of the ghost’s appearance and soldiers wondering why Denmark is working so hard to prepare for war. The reason? Decades earlier, the king (Hamlet’s father) had slain Fortinbras, King of Norway, in single combat; now the fatherless son of Fortinbras is preparing an army to attack, take back the land, and avenge his father’s death. These soldiers may be among the first to die in such a war, so they have a right to ponder what their leaders are up to and who caused the mess. The play ends with Hamlet giving his “dying voice” i...

I am writing a book about biblical allusions in Shakespeare's Hamlet. But to appeal to the young, when I speak to younger groups, I can say I'm writing a book about religious #EasterEggs in the story that Disney's The Lion King was based on. To people between 14 and 25, an allusion sounds too much like "illusion," but its the same as what the young refer to as an "easter egg" in a movie (hidden meaning or reference). There are many, many youtube videos claiming to reveal the easter eggs in Disney films, Star Wars films, etc. And many young people who have not read or seen Hamlet have seen #TheLionKing. It's just hard for the young to imagine that the ghost of Simba's dad might be a demon in disguise, and Simba kills Nala's dad accidentally, thinking he's killing Scar in revenge. But we cross that bridge when we come to it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Links to a description of my book project: On LinkedIn: https://l...