Shakespeare References in Deep Community

Deep Community: Adventures In The Modern Folk Underground, by Scott Alarik, contains some Shakespeare references. The book is a collection of pieces on the vibrant folk scene, focusing especially on the Boston scene. In a piece on Dar Williams, titled "Dar Williams: Her Battle Cry Of Kindness," Alarik writes, referring to The Green World: "The CD title is a theater term describing one of the two worlds in William Shakespeare's plays. There is the court world, where most of his historical dramas and tragedies are set. Then there is the green world, the wild, fey forests of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and 'As You Like It'" (p. 11). A little later in that same piece, Alarik quotes the lyrics of one of Dar's songs: "You would think they're carefree, I have seen their trials/Frowning into Shakespeare and practicing their smiles" (p. 13). Then in a piece on Ewan MacColl, Alarik writes: "'The ballads are brilliant examples of song construction,' he says. 'They are as important to people today as the plays of Shakespeare or Moliere, just as much complete works of art as anything we have in written literature. I think all the ballads in the quatrain form, such as 'Lamkin' or 'Tam Lin,' were very calculatedly composed, as carefully constructed as 'King Lear'" (p. 311). Later in that piece, he writes, "What MacColl is stressing, more than anything else, is that these ballads, and for that matter, all of the traditional folk songs that have been good enough to survive this long, are great works of literature, worthy of being treated as an actor treats Shakespeare" (p. 312). A piece on Kate Wolf contains a reference to Antony And Cleopatra: "Idaho singer-songwriter Sorrels, a friend of Wolf's since their salad days as aspiring troubadours in the mid-'60s, sings a rivetingly conversational cover of 'In China or a Woman's Heart'" (p. 338). The phrase "salad days" comes from Shakespeare's play. Cleopatra says, "My salad days,/When I was green in judgment." This book actually contains a second reference to Antony And Cleopatra, using that same phrase: "Through it all, she has taken precious lessons from her salad days at Club 47" (p. 378). There is one other mention of Shakespeare. About David Coffin, Alarik writes, "After two years, he decided, as he put it, to challenge his interest in music, dropping out of school and moving to Stockbridge, Mass., where he worked two years as a musician for the theatrical troupe Shakespeare & Company" (p. 369).

Deep Community: Adventures In The Modern Folk Underground was published in 2003 through Black Wolf Press.