This is the second of five blog posts where we interviewed each member of the Binding the Bard bookbinding competition panel of judges to hear about their thoughts on Shakespeare, the First Folio, books, art, and inspiration.
Mr. Stuart Hunt
1. Tell us a little about yourself and how you find yourself involved in the Binding the Bard bookbinding competition.
I am the Director of University Library and Collections and University Librarian at Durham University. I am new in the role, having only joined the University at the end of 2023. In this capacity I am in the fortunate position to be a member of the Binding the Bard competition panel. I have been a professional librarian for 30 years and have always worked in and with university libraries for all of my career. One of the benefits of my role, and previous roles that I have held, is that I get to work with museums, archives and special collections. At Durham we are really fortunate to have excellent collections in all these areas as well as excellent staff to support them. I believe passionately in the central role of libraries and librarians in education and research and in the wider outreach into communities. I have held a number of senior leadership roles in university libraries as well as being engaged in committees, boards and advisory groups locally, nationally and internationally. As a professional I have learned, and continue to learn, so much from engaging with colleagues and peers across the sector.
What is your favourite Shakespeare-adjacent memory?
I have two separate memories of Shakespeare. The first is experiencing multiple performances by the all-male theatre troupe Propeller. They perform the plays in a physical and close textual manner which I found extremely engaging. Their performances of both tragedies and comedies was a delight to experience. My second memory is from when I was a school boy growing up on the peripheral of London. We were taken to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Regents Park open air theatre. The performance was continually interrupted, and then abandoned, by rain. Hearing the performers being heckled by the audience was an experience in itself. I can still remember hearing “Would the actors please leave the stage. Would the audience please take cover”. It added another unintentional aspect to the comedy.
If you could travel backwards in time and give Bishop John Cosin one book from today to add to his library, what would it be?
I would suggest the short story by Borges “The Library of Babel”. This might challenge Bishop Cosin’s notion of what a library is, what it contains and what its purpose is, as well as reflecting on the role of the librarian. I hope that he would be both amused and bemused by the story as I am.
Tell us about a piece of art you’ve seen or a moment you’ve experienced that artistically inspired you or changed how you thought about art.
Being part of a Danish/English family I regularly spend time in Denmark. I will always remember the first time I went to a Danish art museum, Trapholt in Kolding, many years ago and experienced modern and contemporary Danish art first hand. I was an area that I am ashamed to admit I knew very little about. Since that time I have had Danish art on my walls at home. There is also an obvious Shakespeare textual connection to Denmark too!
When considering the Durham Folio, what do you personally feel makes it special?
All First Folios are interesting in and of themselves and have their own stories to tell. The Durham First Folio has its own story which adds a further layer to the history of the volume which makes it interesting as an artefact, as an object of study, and for the content. All these elements coming together make the Durham First Folio unique.