Virtual Folger Salon with Jennifer Evans, Elizabeth Porter, and Jake Yuzna

Join the Folger Institute for a virtual salon on Friday, June 26, 2026, at 12pm ET, where three Folger fellows will share their most exciting research finds and challenges, followed by open Q&A. This session highlights the work of Virtual Fellows, bringing together early modern scholarship on fertility and loss, eighteenth-century feminist fiction, and contemporary queer theatrical practice.

When: Friday, June 26, 2026, at 12pm ET.
Venue: Virtual on Zoom.
Tickets: Free, but registration is required to receive the access link.
Format: Each fellow presents their discoveries and struggles, then the floor opens for conversation and questions.
Speakers and Topics: Jennifer Evans (2025–26 Short-term Fellow, Margaret Hannay Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender-Folger Institute Fellow) discusses "Wounded Wombs and Empty Cradles: Miscarriage and Pregnancy Loss in Early Modern England c.1600-1780," examining medical publications, manuscript recipe books, and personal correspondence to understand experiences of miscarriage and stillbirth, including how reproductive failure was considered infertility and how gendered knowledge about gestation was created. Elizabeth P. Porter (2025–26 Short-term Fellow, Assistant Professor of English at Hostos Community College, CUNY) presents "Bluestocking Letters: Networking and Gatekeeping among British Women of the Long Eighteenth Century," rooted in her book project *Feminist Fictions: Plotting Women in the British Long Eighteenth Century* and published in journals such as *Eighteenth-Century Fiction* and *The Eighteenth Century*. Jake Yuzna (2025–26 Artistic Research Fellow) shares "Promptbooks for Queer Play," exploring the theatrical promptbook form as an alternative to traditional film scripts, drawing on the Folger’s holdings to create hand-made artist promptbooks that investigate gender and identity fluidity in Shakespeare’s plays.
Note: This is a free event, but advance registration is required. Most Folger Salons take place in-person in the Great Hall, but this one is held virtually to showcase the work of the Folger’s Virtual Fellows.