"The Great White Bard" is a thoughtful exploration of Shakespeare's work through the lens of race. It balances celebrating Shakespeare's genius with inviting critical conversations about representation and diversity. It is a good read for anyone passionate about literature and social equity.

Throughout the work, Karin-Cooper's passion and dedication to the study of Shakespeare is clearly evident. The Great White Bard offers more than just an analysis of how we can continue to study the Bard's work while also incorporating modern and important topics such as race, it reads almost like a lover letter to the Bard and draws readers in with a plethora of information, thought provoking concepts, and valuable insight into how the study of Shakespeare and his works can continue well into the future and make the works more inclusive and accessible to people of all ages, backgrounds, and races. This is definitely a book I will be purchasing to have on the shelf for future reads and further study.
I enjoyed this book and think scholars and the average lay person alike with enjoy and finding something useful and information within the pages.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.

“The Great White Bard: How to Love Shakespeare While Talking About Race, by Farah Karim-Cooper (ISBN 9780593489376), Publication Date: 15 August 2023, earns three strong stars.

Probably like many, I readily confess that when I was much younger, I didn’t quite understand why, seemingly, all high school students were compelled to read Shakespear’s MacBeth. Apparently, time has a way of easing if not eliminating the pain of that experience, since the more I read Shakespeare’s works the more I understand and appreciate the timelessness and enduring relevance of his work in understanding human motivation and behavior, and the human condition. )I say that not caring a whit if his efforts were assisted by others.)

Now, some 55 years later, I readily confess that I never knew that Shakespeare was at the center of a racial controversy of local, national or international proportions, or even contributed to such things. Perhaps even more amazing is the absolute dearth of information shared with me then or ever such as that presented by the author’s exceptional research. Why, I wonder now, did that happen?

Why did we not study the period and its societal influences even as we studied MacBeth when we were in a perfect place in history to do so, what with Robert Kennedy’s and Martin Luther’s Kings murders occurring at that time? Add to that I attended a fully integrated inner-city high school in a steel town. Perhaps it was (is?) that learning in high school is the presentation of information along a very narrow path from which its purveyors dare not wander. I do know that even today that struggle goes on. Well, in the end, my high school, established in 1866, no longer exists, without even leaving a mark on the ground from its long-held location. Perhaps this is also the point of the author….

As to “The Great White Bard,” who I never thought as any particular color—white, tawney, or black—is a very detailed read… perhaps, even, just a bit too much, but the scholarship is quite clear—and that alone is admirable. While brilliantly researched, I also confess the narrative went ways and to depths that sometimes resulted in obscuring the point being made, but then that’s probably at least partly my fault (if not also due to my long-gone English teacher, Mr. Wilson), but I couldn’t help but think that perhaps a different editor could’ve made the difference even in the face of my limitations.

Thanks to the publisher (Penguin Group Viking) for granting this reviewer this opportunity to read this Advance Reader Copy (ARC), and thanks to NetGalley for helping to make that possible.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 4.5/5 stars.

I've been following the Globe's move toward antiracism, so I was super excited to see this and be accepted for it. It does discuss the typical Shakespeare race plays (e.g. Othello) but it also does a phenomenal job discussing race and racial formation within other Shakespeare plays as well. I also appreciated how it didn't say "oh don't teach Shakespeare" but introduced ways to reframe him and our thinking of him and his plays. I also appreciated the historical information in it as well. I only docked it 1/2 a star because I don't think it's accessible to those who do not have somewhat of a background in racial formation theory or studying race; however, I do think they would still benefit from reading this...it might just require some additional information to truly understand.

Both fascinating and frustrating.

Fascinating because there is a wealth of information included, all quite detailed. Frustrating because I realized early on that I'm no longer familiar enough with Shakespeare's written works to fully take it all in. Hence, the problem was with me, not the book. It's simply been too long since I've done a deep dive into all things Shakespeare. As a result, I had to stop and spend some time quickly refreshing my memory as I read. As a result, I hesitated over the book rating. to be honest, for me personally it was probably a 3 star as it was slow going and at times I was simply, well, lost. For those more familiar with his works in detail, or a real interest in the focus, race as reflected in his works, however, this would easily be a 4/5 star. I've gone with the 4 star simply for simplification. I would suggest you refresh your memory on his works prior to reading, however.

In any case, although it was obvious to me early on that this book wasn't really for me, I'm still glad I persevered and finished. While it didn't focus on William Shakespeare's life and what personally drove him, it does offer a fascinating, very in-depth look at his times. In the process, it traces how impressions of Shakespeare's characters and written word reflected racial and, yes, even sexual attitudes of the day. In addition, it follows up its determinations with the probably how and why for these attitudes at the time. While focused on race, yes, it also approaches the role of the notable female characters in his plays. It also provides a sense of what being in the pit before the stage reserved for those with less wealth must have been like. In fact, it highlights where the audience itself became a character of sorts as the play moved into or through the standing throngs. As one who'd have surely been there, that was intriguing to me.

Bottom line, while I'm not going to detail the author's conclusions and findings -- I mean, the book is some 300+ pages long and each page is full of information -- I'll say that the author does an admirable job of supporting her thesis. Rather ironically, just as I finished reading, Shakespeare's works once again became a target for those who would restrict access to them. That issue is still undecided as I type. Let's just say, you may or may not agree with her but there is a great deal of food for thought provided, all thoroughly researched and documented. My thanks to #NetGalley and #PenguinGroupViking - #Viking for allowing me this intriguing look at the work of a man who is my 11th great uncle or something like that via his sister's lineage. I may not have taken it all in but it has made me curious enough to plan to do some refreshing of my memory, that's for sure.

Smart, lively, and initially engaging study of Shakespeare and race which does a good job of navigating the space between cancellation and fossilization. Karim-Cooper's commitment to Shakespeare's work does not keep her from delving into the ways that race plays an often overlooked role in his plays well beyond 'Othello.' The problem comes in later chapters of the book where her thesis gets more gnarled in pseudo-academese and loses its way in minor digressions that do little to illuminate her larger points about how race informs plays like 'The Tempest' to Shakespeare's curious enthronement by racist Western reactionaries as a misunderstood symbol of everything they believe they are protecting from darker-skinned peoples.