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Drew Snow

@shakesbrain.bsky.social

US Fulbright scholar (Alum): Distinguished Teacher Researcher | H.S. English Teacher & Dept. Chair | Collector of Rare Books | In the middle of Chicago. Views are my own.

1,547 Followers  |  800 Following  |  93 Posts  |  Joined: 10.11.2024
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Posts by Drew Snow (@shakesbrain.bsky.social)

I was once honored to attend a reading by Ms. Toni Morrison. It was apparent then that she had a grand sense of humor. Now we have this book!

Found this photo of Morrison with her cat. Attempt at humor is mine!

07.02.2026 21:34 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Laurie Santos on the Science Behind Teacher Well-Being The Happiness LabΒ host and Yale cognitive scientist explains what the research says actually supports teacher well-beingβ€”at both the individual and structural level.

Happiness expert Laurie Santos knows what it feels like to burn out as a teacher, because she’s been there too. She shares a host of micro-strategies that can help preserve and sustain well-being amidst the realities and challenges of classroom life. β˜€οΈ

#EduSky

01.02.2026 13:43 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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My copy carries the bookplate of C. Alan Soons, once a professor of Romance Languages at UMass Amherst, whose personal library became the Alan & Rosalie Soons Library of Hispanic Studies. A nice link between scholarship and collecting. #booksky #UMass

01.09.2025 17:13 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Acquired the deluxe 1928 Laterza Orlando Furioso, bound in bespoke full gold tooled morocco. Part of the critical Scrittori d’Italia series β€” a national project to publish Italy’s literary masterpieces in enduring scholarly editions. #booksky

01.09.2025 17:13 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

My most beautiful Toni Morrison book: limited signed edition of Morrison's Nobel Prize for Literature speech.

Printed on handmade paper and housed in a striking binding/slipcase made with batik fabric by Global Mamas. A testament to artistry and an incredible moment in literary history.
#booksky

16.08.2025 02:39 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Someone got a deal!

07.08.2025 00:20 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Romeo + Juliet is a brilliant film and adaptation. The opening alone invites students to revisit the opening lines of the "boring" play with fresh eyes that can see the play is as much about violence, hate, and war as it is about love.

07.08.2025 00:10 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Ringler's scholarly annotations are the most economical I have seen from someone in the humanities. However, they match the economy of his bookplate. #poetry #books

05.08.2025 03:37 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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It took collecting this 1829 Large Paper Limited (50 copies) Edition of Sir Philip Sidney's Works to realize that this poet needs to be read more!

Research led me to resurrect this tweet as I searched for the esteemed William Ringler, who owned and annotated my copy. #poetry #books

05.08.2025 03:37 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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"Reads too much"

23.07.2025 00:22 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Who knew that reading too much would be an official cause for a divorce filing?

Considering Bette Davis' sardonic nature, you would think her husband meant "reads too much" in the other context of reading someone. #booksky

23.07.2025 00:22 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I really came to love Eugene O’Neill thanks to some amazing experiences at the Goodman Theatre, especially with Robert Falls directing. Got to take my AP Lit students to see an O’Neill show thereβ€”it was a great way to share that passion.

07.07.2025 23:17 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Eugene O'Neill is a part of my rare book collection.

Just found an original sales contract tucked inside one of the volumes from the signed limited set of his plays. $120 in the middle of the Depressionβ€”equivalent to over $2,000 today. Wow!
#booksky #books

07.07.2025 23:17 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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It wasn't until later that I came to understand the social commentary of Stephen Vincent Benet's story.

27.06.2025 23:22 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

So strange to think that The Devil and Daniel Webster was a story I saw as young adult lit as a 4th grader. I read it over and over again. So, when I became a book collector, it was one of my first books.

My copy is inscribed by John C. Farrarβ€”the book's publisher. #booksky #books

27.06.2025 23:22 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

From learning about Patricia Highsmith's life, I'm tired just learning about her fascinating life.

As you can see from my collection, I got carried away with my doubles. Inheriting a book collection from someone with great taste is great, even if you already own the books. :)
#booksky

12.06.2025 02:50 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Ah! From one high school English teacher to another β€” Thanks, and congrats on your forthcoming book!

30.05.2025 04:42 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Unfortunate that Ben Jonson's literary star doesn't shine any brighter.

Acquired this scarce folio-sized scholarly large paper edition on handmade laid paper w/fine bindings a bit ago.

Only 50 copies of this deluxe edition were published in 1875.
#booksky
#rarebooks

29.05.2025 15:55 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Grolier Club's 1895 edition of the Poems of John Donne. Limited edition of 380 copies on handmade paper. You can never own too many John Donne books. My other copy is by LEC.
#booksky #poetry

22.05.2025 03:25 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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A letter I own from Elkin Mathews, the publisher, to Dodd, Mead & Co., regarding American publishing rights for a book that included unpublished writing by Charles Lamb and William Hazlitt.

Notably, Elkin Mathews was the first publisher of James Joyce. He also published Oscar Wilde.
#booksky

17.05.2025 19:20 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

After looking up the bookplate, I learned this book once belonged to Edwin B. Holden, an early president of the Grolier Club and founding president of Club Bindery.

Was about to break this book apart for the 50 etchings by Rembrandt through the photogravure process before learning this provenance.

03.05.2025 15:08 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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I have loved Gordon Parks' The Learning Tree since boyhood.

Pulled out my inscribed copies of two of his books and am now on a research crusade to find out more about the person to whom he inscribed the books.

He clearly knew this person well.
#booksky
#photography
#film

19.04.2025 02:00 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I would say that Warhol and Parks also make sense. Both were artists and filmmakers.

19.04.2025 01:28 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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From my copy of Frank Miller's Sketchbook.

06.04.2025 23:10 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I need to figure out how to pick up three Frank Miller comics in one week.

It took me years to find my copies. I also need to start collecting the trade editions of Miller so I can have more luck.

Showing my limited signed editions of Frank Miller's Sin City.
#comics
#booksky

06.04.2025 22:56 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness. I am very, very weak, but they are two different things.

01.04.2025 16:09 β€” πŸ‘ 7474    πŸ” 674    πŸ’¬ 78    πŸ“Œ 16

Makes sense to me. I just really like the idea of Lydgate's poem as early fanfiction! That the 2nd Speght edition of 1602 (which had as one purpose to lionize Chaucer) includes The Siege of Thebes with Chaucer's own work is very telling now that I think about it in this way.

25.03.2025 13:29 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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From my research, this 1602 ed. of Chaucer added a glossary, sources list, and new biography.

"This work shaped the reading of Chaucer for the next several centuries. It marks the first time a Middle English writer had been given the critical treatment usually reserved for works from antiquity."

25.03.2025 04:53 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Never thought of "The Siege of Thebes" as Chaucer fanfiction. Not sure if you were being tongue in cheek, but...

Pulled out my 1602, 2nd Speght edition of Chaucer's Works, which helped establish him in the canon, and at the end of this important edition is the Lydgate poem!

My photos.
#booksky

25.03.2025 04:53 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
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Elizabeth Carey, Lady Hunsdon - The Tudor Society he was the wife of a Boleyn descendant, the patron of some of Elizabeth I’s greatest minds, and a member of the powerful Spencer dynasty, the same family as Princess Diana. Yet, history has largely fo...

A Forgotten Tudor Patron

She was a Spencer, the wife of a Boleyn descendant, and a patron to Elizabethan greats like Edmund Spenser & John Dowlandβ€”yet history has overlooked Elizabeth Carey, Lady Hunsdon...

bit.ly/4kggMrZ

#TudorHistory #ElizabethCarey #WomenInHistory

25.02.2025 14:56 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1