Praise for Enjoy Shakespeare Translations
"Too often, unless we read a Shakespeare play beforehand, we process the language as if it were coming from a poorly tuned-in radio station. Shakespeare didn’t write his plays to be experienced impressionistically as ‘poetry;’ he assumed his language was readily comprehensible. At what point does a stage of a language become so different from the modern one as to make translation necessary? Mr. Richmond is brave enough to assert that, for Shakespeare, that time has come. The French have Moliere, the Russians have Chekhov—and now, we can truly say that we have our Shakespeare.”
—John McWhorter, Manhattan Institute
"I wanted something more understandable. I found [Richmond's] script and loved it...The translation manages to maintain Shakespeare's brilliant form and rhythm."
—Shauna Huff, director of Romeo and Juliet: A Verse Translation, Jonathan Alder High School (Madison Messenger, 11/07/05)
"Richmond has performed a service for English-speaking students everywhere. "
—Boak Ferris, Calif. State Univ. Long Beach
"For the first time I see what Shakespeare is doing."
—university student“
"I dearly hope that Kent Richmond will continue this immensely valuable and supremely necessary project of making the genuine Shakespeare available to modern readers. In importance to the literary heritage of the English-speaking world, I would compare this project to the production of the King James Bible in 1611. Please, please keep going."
—Robert B. Laney
Oxnard, California
The linguist Kent Richmond...set about to translate Shakespeare into English, verse by verse without cutting or simplifying. His goal is to capture the essence, complexity and rhythm of the original works, while removing the "linguistic grime" that adds up over the centuries. I've been reading his translation of King Lear, and I believe he has succeeded.
—Bjørn Stærk, "Translating Shakespeare into English"
