Prospero's Son: Life, Books, Love, and Theater

by Seth Lerer

  In addition to revising these earlier materials, I have adapted a few sentences in chapter 6 from my Inventing English: A Portable History of the Language (New York: Columbia University Press, 2007), and a few sentences in chapter 9 from my Children’s Literature: A Reader’s History, from Aesop to Harry Potter (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008). The quotation from the novel in chapter 10 comes from Anna North, America Pacifica (New York: Reagan Arthur Books, 2011). All quotations from The Tempest are from the edition of Stephen Orgel (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987).

  As this book evolved, I took guidance from many friends and colleagues. Jennifer Crewe and John Kulka brought their editorial experience to early drafts. Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum taught me about narrative pacing. Anna North helped me find the dramatic arc to my story. Joseph Dane knew what to keep and what to cut out. Kathryn Temple shared with me her own experience of writing personal, creative nonfiction. Denise Gigante has been an ardent supporter. Deanne Williams thoughtfully read many drafts and has worked rewardingly with me on reading, teaching, and writing about Shakespeare.

  This book would not have seen its publication without the inspiring support of Randy Petilos of the University of Chicago Press. The editor for my Children’s Literature, he welcomed the idea of this book from the start, and he has been a true partner in this project. Alan Thomas of the Press expertly shepherded my manuscript through the review process, and I am grateful to him and to the two anonymous referees who approached this unusual submission with attentiveness, care, and critical acumen that helped immeasurably in my revisions.

  In his book The Great War and Modern Memory, Paul Fussell quotes Wright Morris as saying, “Anything processed by memory is fiction.” I have not willfully manipulated fact here. But this is how I remember things.