Rapping Shakespeare! That’s the Sonnet Man. Devon Glover

MIDDLETOWN – On Thursday, April 6, 2017,the Sonnet Man comes to SUNY Orange to present Shakespeare in a manner not usually associated with classical literature: rap! Teacher/poet/rapper, Devon Gloveris the Sonnet Man who delivers sonnets as originally written, and then breaks them down into today’s “spoken word.”

Glover will give his master class, The Sonnet Man: Hip-Hop Shakespeare Poetry Writing Workshop, twice: first at 12:30pm in the Gilman Center, Library Room 130 on the Middletown campus and second at 4pm in the OCTC Great Room 101 in Kaplan Hall on the Newburgh campus.

During the master class, participants will be introduced to Shakespeare’s Sonnets 18 and 130, discuss his structure of writing sonnets and plays, write their own sonnets, and create a small mini-concert within the class, sharing their work. Glover offers attendees the opportunity of learning Shakespeare through fun and excitement, thereby increasing creativity, and improving communication skills.  For this class, please bring writing utensils.

At 7:15pm, in the OCTC Great Room 101 in Kaplan Hall, the day’s events will be climaxed with Glover’s performance, The Sonnet Man: Hip-Hop Shakespeare Fusion. As the Sonnet Man, he raps Shakespeare’s sonnets to energetic beats.  Participants also engage in other activities with The Sonnet Man, including songs with call-and-response prompts.  His flows, along with his unique presentation and teaching abilities, embody the richness of Shakespeare’s language, and Glover’s passionate, yet natural delivery offers inspiring experiences audiences of all ages enjoy.

The master classes and the performance are free and open to the public.

Devon Glover performs Shakespeare’s Sonnets in a dynamic way through Hip-Hop in schools, universities, and theaters to audiences nationally and abroad.  As The Sonnet Man, he has appeared on The Today Show, MSNBC, BBC, and Shakespeare Festivals throughout the world, including Oregon, Stratford, Ontario, and Stratford-upon-Avon, and had notable residencies at the University of Northern Michigan, Brown University as well as Stratford Shakespeare. The release of his debut video “Hip-Hop Hamlet” was selected for the Shakespeare Short Film Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon. Last year, he went on a Sonnet Marathon Tour in the US, UK, and Morocco. On April 24, 2016, he rapped all 154 of Shakespeare’s sonnets in succession.

He received a BS in Mathematics from Ithaca College.

The Gilman Center in the Library is located at the corner of South Street and East Conkling Avenue (near GPS 115 South Street), a quick walk from several college parking lots. Kaplan Hall is situated at the corner of Grand and First Streets. Free and secure parking is available in the Kaplan Hall garage accessible at 73 First Street.

For more information, contact 845-341-9386 or cultural@sunyorange.edu. You may also check out the Cultural Affairs website at www.sunyorange.edu/culturalaffairs.