Shakespeare at Pendleton

The last time I posted here, I was anticipating a return to Pendleton. Indeed I did return, three times. The first day was largely a matter of catching up after almost two years away. Unfortunately, part of what I learned was that one of our participants had passed away in April 2021, and the men did not have any opportunity for a memorial service. So for the second session, I gave the men as much time as they wanted to remember their friend and colleague. We afterwards began looking into Julius Caesar. In our third session, we spent our time on Act 1 of Caesar.

Then we were closed down again. Omicron. An outbreak of Legionnaire's disease. And the ongoing problem, understaffing at the facility.

I remain waiting for the opportunity to resume, but we don't have any day foreseeable when we will be able to. I have every intention of returning when I am allowed to do so. However, meanwhile, I am thinking about contacting other jails and prisons and seeing if I can offer some short-term programs. I am thinking along the lines of book groups. After I do some upcoming travel, I will look into this.

I have a brief announcement and comment to make.

First, the announcement: We will resume Shakespeare at Pendleton on Tuesday, July 13. This will be our first in-person session since March 3, 2020. (What a year and a half this has been.) Our priority to start with will be just with reconnection. We'll get to Shakespeare in due course.

The comment: My last posting here was in October 2020. I laid out plans for continuing while we were not meeting in person, but I was not able to maintain those plans and simultaneously maintain the work of teaching during the pandemic. I regret this and will need to communicate my regrets when I see my friends in Pendleton again.