James Earl Jones Reads Othello at White House Poetry Jam

Not long after taking office, President Obama hosted the first White House poetry jam – an evening dedicated to the spoken word and bringing verses to life. Esperanza Spalding’s performance was a high point. And later came James Earl Jones, arguably the best special effect in Star Wars, who recited lines from Shakespeare instead of Dr. Seuss (since Jesse Jackson already covered that literary territory back in 1991). The reading comes from Othello. Specifically, we’re witnessing Othello’s address to the Venetian senators.

You can read Othello, along with the rest of Shakespeare’s complete works, at MIT’s website for free. Or you can download the works as a free ebook via iTunesU. We have more on that here…

via DIY Scholar