In 2001, constituents of The Shakespeare Guild enjoyed many of the privileges of membership in the ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION, and a number of jointly sponsored activities in the Nation's Capital resulted in an extraordinary year.
In March dozens gathered at the WASHINGTON CLUB on Dupont Circle to hear art historian STUART SILLARS talk about "The Novel and its Illustrators." On April 9, we enjoyed actor DAVID SABIN's anecdotes about his long and storied theater career. Ten days later we were at the BRITISH EMBASSY, where Ambassador SIR CHRISTOPHER MEYER AND LADY MEYER hosted an elegant reception. In May we joined the RSA (the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce), the BRITISH COUNCIL, and the SMITHSONIAN for a two-day symposium on "The Globalization of English." Television journalist SIR DAVID FROST (famous for an interview in which he persuaded President Nixon to admit guilt for the Watergate scandal) headlined a stellar program that also included such luminaries as TIM BERNERS-LEE, inventor of the World Wide Web, and sociolinguist DEBORAH TANNEN, author of You Just Don't Understand. In July we savored a delightful evening with actor MICHAEL YORK, a conversation that yielded a charming item in the "Reliable Source" column of The Washington Post. On November 14 we hosted a gathering at which British statesman ROY JENKINS introduced his new book about Sir Winston Churchill, an event that was recorded by C-SPAN2 and telecast later on its weekend Book TV service. On November 27 we heard CNN journalist BILL PRESS as he pondered all the world as a giant spin room. And on December 7, we teamed up with the BRITISH COUNCIL and GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY to co-host the first American presentation of BBC RADIO 4's celebrated Any Questions? program, hosted by JONATHAN DIMBLEBY.
For details about these and other highlights, see Summer 2001, Autumn 2001. and December 2001. For information about related events in other years, visit 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007.
