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Book co-written by UAB's Koskinen examines daughters of "King Lear"

  • October 06, 2010

UAB Department of Theatre Associate Professor Karla Koskinen, M.F.A., has co-written a book analyzing the characters of the three daughters in Shakespeare's play "King Lear." Koskinen says she proposed a study of "King Lear" to counteract the ongoing critical demonization of Goneril and Regan and idealization of Cordelia. Re-Visioning Lear's Daughters: Testing Feminist Criticism and Theory, published by Palgrave Macmillan, was released in August 2010.

Koskinen researched and wrote the book with DePaul University Professor of English Lesley Kordecki, Ph.D. Koskinen has worked with Kordecki, a dramaturg, on professional Shakespeare productions. "Throughout my directing career, I have benefited from the work of scholars and critics who have induced me to encounter plays in new and exhilarating ways," Koskinen says. "In particular, feminist criticism, a long-time source of inspiration for my interpretations, profoundly influenced many of my productions and led me to pursue a collaborative book project."

The book is offered by Amazon, Barnes and Noble and is available at libraries and online book sellers, Koskinen says.