Dear Sidney-Spenser devotees,
I'd like to circulate two news items, one sad, or happy.
First, the sad. It seems to have passed unremarked that Naseeb Shaheen died on September 26. Shaheen was the sort of scholar we all depend on, one who labors away producing reference works that enable many of us to avoid such work. Of note to Spenserians is his Biblical References in the Faerie Queene, but his most impressive work is the monumental Biblical References in Shakespeare's Plays, which I rely on constantly, even if I occasionally disagree with it. It's also clear from Shaheen's obituary that he was a humanitarian as well as a scholar, having given considerable support to Birzeit University, near Ramallah, which will also benefit from proceeds from the sale of Shaheen's impressive library of early modern Bibles and other Shakespeare-related books.
The happy news, also Bible related, is the publication of The Sidney Psalter: The Psalms of Sir Philip and Mary Sidney (Oxford World's Classics), edited by Noel Kinnamon, Margaret Hannay, Michael Brennan, and me. This is the first time since the early 60s that the Psalms of brother and sister have been brought together, as they should be, and made available in an affordable edition. I apologize if this seems self-promoting, but I'll risk your censure in order to promote the Sidney Psalms, as well as to sing the praises of my eminent fellow editors, whose great work on Mary Sidney made this job so much easier.
Hannibal
