Mark Rylance is an award-winning actor, theater director, and playwright. He was the first artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London, from 1995 to 2005. Rylance has won numerous awards for his acting and directing, including three Tony Awards, the Academy Award, the Olivier Award, the BAFTA Award, the Drama Desk Award, and the New York Film Critics Circle Award. He is the author of I Am Shakespeare. He lives in London.

Louis Jenkins is an American poet. His works include North of the Cities, Sea Smoke, Before You Know It, The Winter Road, Just Above Water, Tin Flag, and Nice Fish, which won the Minnesota Book Award. He has been a repeated guest on A Prairie Home Companion and has also been featured on The Writer’s Almanac. He lives in Duluth, Minnesota.