Coley, Suzanne. "Shakespeare and the art of bookmaking." Throughlines. www.throughlines.org/suite-content/shakespeare-and-the-art-of-book-making.

Shakespeare and the art of bookmaking

Interpreting Shakespeare’s sonnets through a contemporary lens of bookmaking, embroidery, and printmaking.

Download the transcript
Suzanne Coley
Independent artist

As a book artist specializing in printmaking, poetry, embroidery, and bookbinding, Suzanne Coley reimagines the words of Shakespeare through the medium of book art. Her work brings Shakespeare into the contemporary world and reshapes his texts into culturally and socially significant art objects. In the last 10 years she has made over 500 unique traditional hardback books expanding the traditional bookbinding and book arts practices. Suzanne's art combines painting, poetry, printmaking, and textile manipulation to examine the human condition and modern-day social justice issues.

Further learning

Recommended

Video

Indigenizing Shakespeare Movement

Many Native artists have found ways to reimagine Shakespeare, bridging communities to illustrate the importance of Indigenous language revitalization, Native art, and storytelling.

Madeline Sayet
RaceB4Race Highlight

Shakespeare and the police

In his presentation at RaceB4Race in 2020, Little compares the policing of the Black body (Black persons) to intellectual theft that often surrounds Shakespeare and early modern studies.

Arthur L. Little, Jr.
RaceB4Race Highlight

White-washing educative adaptations of Shakespeare

Eric L. De Barros critiques educative adaptations of Shakespeare plays that seek to create social change through art but instead are too reverential of Shakespeare, especially its poetic language.

Eric L. De Barros