Michael Witmore (born May 3, 1967) is a scholar of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

and

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

, a digital humanist, and former director of a library and cultural institution. He served as the director of the

Folger Shakespeare Library The Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materia ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, from 2011 to June 2024, during which the Folger Shakespeare Library conceived and completed an $81.5 million, four-year renovation project. He currently consults on digital preservation and cultural accessibility.

Early life and career

Michael Witmore graduated from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in English.Selden, Richard
"Beyond Vassar: Honoring the Bard"
''Vassar, the Alumnae/i Quarterly'', February 2016. He has an M.A. and a Ph.D. in rhetoric from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. From 1999 to 2008, he was an assistant professor and then an associate professor of English at

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

. From 2008 to 2011, he was a professor of English at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

.Witmore, Michael
"Curriculum Vitae"
Folger Shakespeare Library. Retrieved on May 9, 2017."Dr. Michael Witmore"
Staff Directory. Folger Shakespeare Library. Retrieved on May 9, 2017. Witmore's books include ''Culture of Accidents: Unexpected Knowledges in Early Modern England'' (2001), the co-winner of the 2003 Perkins Prize for the study of narrative literature; ''Pretty Creatures: Children and Fiction in the English Renaissance'' (2007); ''Shakespearean Metaphysics'' (2008); and ''Landscapes of the Passing Strange: Reflections from Shakespeare'' (2010) with photographer Rosamond Purcell. He co-edited ''Childhood and Children's Books in Early Modern Europe, 1550–1800'' (2006) and ''Shakespeare and Early Modern Religion'' (2015).

Digital humanities

A pioneer in the use of computers for digital analysis of the texts of William Shakespeare, Witmore launched and directed the Working Group for Digital Inquiry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and organized the Pittsburgh Consortium for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. He also founded Wine Dark Sea, a blog on the nature of linguistic variation in Shakespeare's plays and early modern English text. Witmore is interested in how the resources of computing, when applied to collections of digitized texts, can allow scholars to do intellectual and cultural history "at the level of the sentence." He is known for proposing that "massive addressability" is a fundamental feature of texts. Witmore is currently working on a project with

Vint Cerf Vinton Gray Cerf (; born June 23, 1943) is an American Internet pioneer and is recognized as one of "the fathers of the Internet", sharing this title with TCP/IP co-developer Robert Kahn. He has received honorary degrees and awards that inclu ...

(

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

) called "Digital Vellum," which aims to preserve and transmit cultural materials in digital form centuries into the future.

Folger Shakespeare Library

As the director of the Folger Shakespeare Library, Witmore developed a new strategic plan, which was accepted by the board in 2013. From 2020 to June 2024, the Folger building temporarily closed for a major renovation project, adding two new exhibition halls, extensive new gardens that incorporate two large entry ramps, and accessible visitor entrances below the existing building, in addition to other changes. The renovation project incorporated commissioned art, including a poem by

Rita Dove Rita Frances Dove (born August 28, 1952) is an American poet and essayist. From 1993 to 1995, she served as United States Poet Laureate, Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. She is the first African American to have bee ...

engraved beside a garden path, a light and paper sculpture by Anke Neumann, and an installation by Fred Wilson (artist). During Witmore's tenure, the Folger pursued multiple

digital humanities Digital humanities (DH) is an area of scholarly activity at the intersection of computing or Information technology, digital technologies and the disciplines of the humanities. It includes the systematic use of digital resources in the humanitie ...

(DH) projects, including Early Modern Manuscripts Online (EMMO), Shakespeare's World (a crowdsourced manuscripts project), Shakespeare Documented, A Digital Anthology of Early Modern English Drama (EMED), and apps with a social reading platform for seven of Shakespeare's most-known plays. In addition, the Folger editions of Shakespeare's plays and poems were made available in free, searchable form — originally as the Folger Digital Texts, launched in 2012, and then, in 2020, as The Folger Shakespeare. Witmore led the Folger in celebrating three major Shakespeare anniversaries: the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth in 2014, the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death in 2016, and the 400th anniversary of the

First Folio ''Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies'' is a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, commonly referred to by modern scholars as the First Folio, published in 1623, about seven years after Shakespeare's death. It is cons ...

of Shakespeare in 2023. In preparation for the first two anniversaries, the library updated and renovated its Great Hall exhibition space and completed a number of upgrades to its Elizabethan Theatre. The Folger marked the 2014 anniversary of Shakespeare's birth with ''Shakespeare's the Thing,'' an exhibition of Shakespeare-related items curated by Folger staff members. For the 2016 anniversary of his death, the Folger organized a traveling national tour, ''First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare,'' which displayed First Folios from the Folger collection in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, with public programs and events at the host sites. Other aspects of the 2016 anniversary celebration included a

C-SPAN2 Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises proceedings of the United States federal gov ...

Book TV ''Book TV'' is the name given to weekend programming on the American cable network C-SPAN2, which airs from 8 a.m. Eastern Time Sunday morning to 8 a.m. Eastern Time Monday morning each week. The 24-hour block of programming is focused on no ...

'' live broadcast on the anniversary date, a Los Angeles exhibition on ''America's Shakespeare: The Bard Goes West'', launching a continuing Theater Partnership Program nationwide, commissioning the vocal work "The Isle" (based on ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'') by

Caroline Shaw Caroline Adelaide Shaw (born August 1, 1982) is an American composer of contemporary classical music, violinist, and singer. She won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her a cappella piece '' Partita for 8 Voices''. Shaw received the 2022 G ...

, premiering ''District Merchants'', a variation of ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

'' set in Washington, D.C., after the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, and piloting the CrossTalk DC community discussion program on race and religion as part of the

NEH The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

’s Humanities in the Public Square program. In 2023, the Folger produced ''Searching for Shakespeare'', a festival of events for the anniversary of Shakespeare's First Folio, in partnership with the

District of Columbia Public Library The District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) is the public library system for Washington, D.C. The system includes 26 individual libraries including Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, DCPL's central library. History In October 1895, ...

system, including the premiere of the play ''Our Verse in Time to Come'' by Malik Work and Karen Ann Daniels, in collaboration with Devin E. Haqq, the Shakespeare's Birthday Lecture, a citywide scavenger hunt, workshops and family activities, and the exhibition of a Folger First Folio at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. Under Witmore, the Folger also produced many other projects, among them ''Manifold Greatness: The Creation and Afterlife of the King James Bible'', an NEH-funded 2011–13 national touring panel exhibition on the 400th anniversary of the 1611

King James Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by ...

, with the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

of the University of Oxford; the ''Shakespeare Unlimited'' podcast series, for which Witmore recorded introductions to more than 200 episodes; the general-audience ''Shakespeare & Beyond'' blog; the Folger Shakespeare Audio Editions, studio recordings of seven Shakespeare plays by the Folger Theatre; and what is believed to be the first professional performance in centuries of

William Davenant Sir William Davenant (baptised 3 March 1606 – 7 April 1668), also spelled D'Avenant, was an English poet and playwright. Along with Thomas Killigrew, Davenant was one of the rare figures in English Renaissance theatre whose career spanned bo ...

's adaptation of ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' from about 1664. Other Folger projects included Experiencing Shakespeare, an electronic field trip used by hundreds of thousands of students and produced by Folger Education, which won two regional

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

s; curricula on ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'', ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

'', and ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' for grades 9, 10, and 12 in the

District of Columbia Public Schools The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) is the local public school system for Washington, D.C. It is distinct from the District of Columbia Public Charter Schools (DCPCS), which governs public charter schools in the city. Compositi ...

(DCPS); and Black Shakespeare, an award-winning curriculum for Reconstruction, an online education platform. The Folger also organized "Before 'Farm to Table,'" a four-year collaborative research project funded by the

Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, commonly known as the Mellon Foundation, is a New York City-based private foundation with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the product of the 1969 merger ...

that included scholars in multiple disciplines, performers, chefs, and others, on early modern food and foodways and their social and international impact, including a commissioned theatrical work, ''Confection''. Witmore also sought out new ways to combine science and the humanities, including DNA research on the dust in centuries-old books. While serving as Folger director, Witmore was the co-curator with photographer and co-author Rosamond Purcell of the 2012 Folger exhibition ''Very Like a Whale'', based on their book ''Landscapes of the Passing Strange'', and the co-curator with Heather Wolfe, the Folger curator of manuscripts and associate librarian, of the 2019 Folger exhibition, ''A Monument to Shakespeare: The Architecture of the Folger Shakespeare Library''. He gave the Folger's annual Shakespeare's Birthday Lecture in 2017, spoke at multiple Folger Institute symposia, served as a faculty member at several Folger Institute seminars, and gave pre-show talks before Folger Theatre performances of Shakespeare plays and plays inspired by Shakespeare. Among other public appearances, he gave a Lowell Lecture on "Civic Shakespeare" in 2019 hosted by

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

and appeared in numerous interviews and panel discussions.Examples include
Did Shakespeare Have Acne? What Historic Texts Can Tell Us About The Past
" ''The

Kojo Nnamdi Show Rex Orville Montague Paul (born January 8, 1945), better known as Kojo Nnamdi ( ), is a Guyanese-born American radio journalist based in Washington, D. C. He is the host of ''The Politics Hour'' on WAMU, and hosted “The Kojo Nnamdi Show” and ...

'', WAMU American University Radio, December 11, 2018;
Why Do Fabulously Creative People Like Shakespeare?
Folger Shakespeare Library, April 23, 2020.

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

;
The Artistry and Scholarship of Shakespeare
" The Aspen Institute, August 18, 2020. YouTube; and
Spotlight on Design at the National Building Museum , Folger Renovation
" National Building Museum, August 8, 2022. YouTube.

References

External links

Folger Shakespeare Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Witmore, Michael 1967 births American rhetoricians People in digital humanities Folger Shakespeare Library Living people Shakespearean scholars University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Vassar College alumni Digital preservation

Early life and career

Digital humanities

Folger Shakespeare Library

References

Further reading

External links