Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy Will,
And Will to boot, and Will in over-plus;
More than enough am I that vexed thee still,
To thy sweet will making addition thus.
Wilt thou, whose will is large and spacious,
Not once vouchsafe to hide my will in thine?
Shall will in others seem right gracious,
And in my will no fair acceptance shine?
The sea, all water, yet receives rain still,
And in abundance addeth to his store;
So thou, being rich in Will, add to thy Will
One will of mine, to make thy large will more.
     Let no unkind, no fair beseechers kill;
     Think all but one, and me in that one Will.

Analysis

Sonnet 135 is an appeal to a lover after rejection.

Here, Will name drops, saying his lady has him, to love or to give the boot, Will for days, so much of him that she is constantly pestered by his longings. He wonders why she is so frigid to him, when her sexual desires appear copious, and often acquiesced to the requests of others. What is Will, chopped liver? Why are they so special. and he rebuffed? Like the sea accepting rainwater, so should she accept him as one of many drops of rain. And so, by joining, becoming his lover will only increase her sexual appetite, and in her kindness think of her paramours as a single lover.
 

Will’s Wordplay

Its a good sonnet for Wills! The many meanings of will throughout the poem are as follows.
1. Wish, desire; thing desired.
2. Carnal desire, lust, sexual longing.
3. The auxiliary verb denoting a future tense, as in ‘it will be so’.
4. Willfulness, obstinacy, determination.
5. A slang term for the male sex organ. (As we might say “willy” these days)
6. A slang term for the female sex organ.
7. The name ‘William’, of course.

This sonnet is just filthy! “Will” is a colloquial term for both the male and female genitalia, and so the poem can also be understood sexually in any number of ways. The lady is rich in Will (either sexual appetite, sexual partners, or in her own genitalia). He wants to hide his will in her will (…self explanatory). And so forth.

Shakespeare Statue, Central Park

“William Shakespeare was the first sculpture of a writer to be placed on the Mall, known informally as Literary Walk. It is fitting that two famous nineteenth-century actors, James Morrison Steele MacKay and Edwin Booth, were involved with the sculptor to create this monument to the world-renowned dramatist. Edwin Booth, America’s most famous Shakespearean actor, laid the cornerstone and advised Ward on the appropriate costume for a gentleman in Elizabethan England. MacKay, a good friend of Ward, was the model and suggested the pensive pose. The sculpture was donated by the citizens of New York, led by a committee to honor the 300th anniversary of the birth of the poet and dramatist in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564. Shakespeare is one of four sculptures by Ward in Central Park; the others are the Pilgrim at East 73rd Street near the north drive, Seventh Regiment at the West Drive at 67th Street, and Indian Hunter.” [1]

“This full-standing portrait of celebrated playwright and poet William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was made by John Quincy Adams Ward (1830–1910) and unveiled here at the southern end of the Mall on May 23, 1872.

William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-on-Avon in April of 1564. His father, John Shakespeare, was a glove-maker and commodities trader who rose to become a prominent local alderman and bailiff before suffering declining fortunes. His mother, Mary Arden, was the daughter of a prosperous landowner. Little is known of Shakespeare’s upbringing; he was locally schooled, likely at the King Edward IV Grammar School in Stratford, acquired a reasonable knowledge of Latin and Greek, and read the Roman dramatists.

…In 1864, coinciding with the tri-centennial of Shakespeare’s birth, a group of actors and theatre managers, among them noted Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth (1833–1893), received permission from Central Park’s Board of Commissioners to lay the cornerstone for a statue at the south end of the Mall between two elms. Nothing further was done until the end of the Civil War. In 1866, a competition was held and Ward was selected as the sculptor. Later referred to as the “Dean of American Sculptors,” he contributed nine sculptures to the parks of New York …

The committee raised funds through several benefits, including a performance of Julius Caesar. Jacob Wrey Mould (1825–1886), a principal designer of the structures and ornament within Central Park, designed the elaborate pedestal for this statue. Ward combined a classical pose with many details of Elizabethan dress, and he relied on numerous images of Shakespeare, especially a bust in Stratford. The sculpture was cast in Philadelphia in 1870 at the Robert Wood & Co. foundry. Due to delays in procuring and cutting the granite pedestal in Scotland, it was unveiled on a temporary base in 1872. Some commentators found the work a noble effigy, and others derided it as a costume piece.

In 1986 a replica was cast by the Polich Tallix Fine Art Foundry for the Carolyn Blount Theater in Montgomery, Alabama, home to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. In exchange, Montgomery benefactor Winton M. Blount established a maintenance endowment for the original here in Central Park. Using funds generated by this endowment the Central Park Conservancy restored the sculpture in 1995.

Since the late 1990s this sculpture has been a place for occasional public readings of Julius Caesar during the Ides of March. Central Park has other Shakespearean associations as well. In 1890, Eugene Schieffelin released 80 starlings into the park, because they were mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays (there are now over 200 million of them in America). In 1915, the Shakespeare Society assumed maintenance of a rock garden, built in 1912, in the park near West 79th Street. In 1934, the Shakespeare Garden, which features particular plants named in his writings, was relocated to the hillside between Belvedere Castle and the Swedish Cottage, and in 1989, a new landscape design by Bruce Kelly and David Varnell was implemented. In 1958, after two seasons at the East River Amphitheater, Joseph Papp’s Shakespeare Festival moved to Central Park. The Delacorte Theater became its permanent home, opening in 1962.” [2]

References

1. http://www.centralparknyc.org/things-to-see-and-do/attractions/william-shakespeare.html
2. http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/centralpark/monuments/1431

ACTOR – I am Many

Free thinker, Avant-Garde Hip Hop Artist, Music Lover

I am Many was born an artist, Saw things differently as a child, started rapping at age 11/12, hung out on the streets till he was able to get into clubs. (always carried a boom box) In 1996 he became a Raver and went out constantly for 2 years.. in 1998 I left the rave scene to become a battle Rapper and part time B Boy. (He won battles and was highly respected by anyone who’s anyone in NYC) In 2004 with the help of Deep and many others he released “Many Styles” and for this, I did a thousand shows but then disappeared to work on his follow up.. This took longer than it should have due to 1, writers block,and 2 the producer he was trying to work with, but never the less after YEARS of nonsense they managed to string together a measly four song project. This was stupid for many reasons.. Good music, good lyrics, great artwork.. but simply took too much time to create (YOU SHOULD STILL BUY IT THOUGH, ITS CALLED “THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE” AND ITS AVAILABLE ON I-TUNES)

After that whole ordeal, I attempted to create a project with Frank Sasoon and long time crew member Reason Kills under the group name “Dope Heads”. It didn’t work out but he kept the songs he liked from that collaboration and used them for what was to be the next release, “The Born Again Sinner” mix tape. This was truly a brand new start, one that made sense and further more would be a great segue for what would be the true beginning of a movement “Strength In Numbers.” With this he could bring forth his ideals, convictions, and desire to assemble.. To be continued

FEATURING- Kalae Nouveau

Kalae Nouveau (formerly known as Kalae All Day) is a singer/songwriter/emcee. The Harlem native has over 100 New York shows under her belt, at venues such as SOB’s, Crash Mansion (RIP), Sputnik (RIP), The Knitting Factory, Public Assembly, Highline Ballroom, Santos Party House, SouthPaw (RIP) and Ashford and Simpson’s Sugar Bar. Opening for rappers Jean Grae, Talib Kweli, Keith Murray and CL Smooth, she has been making her presence felt on the music scene in NYC since 2008.

A natural performer, Kalae sang in the Children’s Choir at the Harlem School of Arts at the tender age of four. She went on to be influenced and inspired by musical talents such as the great Jimi Hendrix. Kalae at times describes herself as ‘neo-soul’ or ‘hip hop’ but in reality she supersedes all genres, so it therefore made sense for her to create her own genre, one which truly defines who she is, Kalae Nouveau is; Afromatic-neo hippie-rockstar-soul music.

At an arresting 5’10” (6ft if you include her hair) Kalae brings the energy and presence of a vet to her stage show and leaves the crowd begging for more. Kalae first stepped on stage 4 years ago, performing original tracks to only 20 people with nothing but a smile, a habibi scarf and a guitar player. Since then Kalae has been called “One of the most notable female MCs in the New York circuit” by Above Ground Magazine. But she is much more than an “MC,” she is an artist.

On March 17th 2010, Kalae released her first recorded project under “Kalae All Day,” executively produced by chart topping artist, Princess Superstar, entitled “AFROMATIKNEOHIPPIEROCK*SOLEMUSIK”. The album includes guest appearances by, Homeboy Sandman, Mic Wilson (the rapper formerly known as Prezzure) and Rebel Starr to name a few. It has been compared to the likes of Mos Def’s second project by Beyond Race Magazine; “The multi-eclectic approach of Kalae’s album raises a similar question as Mos Def’s sophomore solo, which challenges listeners’ definition of what hip-hop is, by including sounds from some of hip-hop’s mother genres.” The music video for the first single, “O.G.LYRIKALBOOKBAGGER” featuring Homeboy Sandman, has been featured on many popular blogs such as, Okayplayer, Nahright and 2dopeboyz.

In 2009 Kalae became the only female singer to ever win the Brooklyn Bodega Show and Prove. The grand prize was the opportunity to perform on the main stage of the 2010 Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival along side legends De La Soul, which was a huge honor for her. In August of 2010 she opened for Dead Prez, Cody ChesnuTT and Pharoahe Monch at The Highline Ballroom. In November of 2010 she received her first endorsement by the bag company Slappa and made a promotional video for the company using a mixture of recorded and live music that was released in Jan of 2011.

In 2011 Kalae released a Bossa Nova inspired EP with rapper and Spoken word artist SciryL Cooper. It was received very well and written up in the Revivalist section of OkayPlayer. Soon there after Kalae was chosen to be featured in an Artist Spotlight mini documentary sponsored by Kotex and aired on MTV for six months. That same year she released a music video “20 Kit Kats 4 the Riff Raff” which was written up by Vibe.com who posed the question, “Is Kalae All Day the next female rap Superstar?”

In 2012 Kalae released “PassTimes & Crasslines” her highly anticipated first mixtape with tracks by MF Doom and Flying Lotus. She also appeared on the pop/rock duo Hank & Cupcakes debut album “Naked” on the official remix to “Aint No Love.” That same year Kalae declared that “Artists evolve and so do names” and changed her name to Kalae Nouveau.

In February of 2013 Kalae was featured on “WomanUp” the Remix by pop singer Charlene Kaye. The song received rave reviews and thousands of views. In April she released “Word Theft” an acoustic video with Ben Tyree.

Kalae Nouveau is currently working on Nou* music to better represent the artist she is. She encompasses many musical influences, spanning from Soul to Electronic to Hip Hop and her goal is to erase the line between mainstream and underground.

DIRECTOR – Valerie Politis

Valerie was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Her love for performing and storytelling was nurtured from a young age. A child actor, Valerie’s most memorable roles include: a telepathic cartoon child who rode around on a flying fish, a friend of a disguised alien who came to Earth to learn about health, and a pint-sized stalker of an elderly woman with a suitcase.

At school, many hours spent in front of a Commodore 64 developing plays resulted in many hours coaxing friends into performing them in class. Her credo, “If you must present it you can perform it” served her well through high school, resulting in sandbox-filmed trench highlights from Fifth Business, a Goethe interview from beyond the grave by candlelight on her teacher’s desk, and a graphic commercial parody for feminine products.

Valerie obtained an Honors Bachelor of Arts, High Distinction, from the University of Toronto in Film Studies. Months of early cinema watching inspired her b/w, silent, experimental short film series 1.-4., which screened at the Cinefest Festival for Young Filmmakers in Hungary and the Cinema Jove Festival in Spain.

These days, while working as an Assistant Director in Hollywood North and doing her best to become a contestant on The Amazing Race Canada, Valerie is developing two short film projects: The Projectionist, a revenge comedy that blows up in the eponymous protagonist’s face, and The Scottish Play, a dark comedy about one psychopath’s challenging journey to be herself. She is elated to be shooting her first project in New York City, and honored to be part of this impressive Herculean undertaking of the New York Shakespeare Exchange.

She’d like to thank: her childhood friend Nancy for sleepovers listening to her hip-hop DJ brother’s records, her in-school dance instructor Paul Pettiford, for helping this ballet, jazz, and tap dancing girl learn how to move to Janet Jackson and Salt N’ Pepa, and her childhood peers for the verbal mastery of their ‘cut up’ sessions in the Ryerson P.S. schoolyard.