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Rob Crisell is an author, actor, teacher, and Shakespearean in Temecula, CA. He teaches poetry and Shakespeare with the Murrieta Valley Union School District as part of its Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) program. He is a Shakespeare lecturer with Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. He has acted in The Merchant of Venice, Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged), Baskerville, Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Tempest (Prospero), Macbeth, Othello (Iago), and others. Over the quarantine, he has acted in Much Ado About Nothing and Merry Wives of Windsor (with Nathan Agin’s “A Working Actor’s Journey production) and King Lear (Quarantine Players). He has written and performed several one-man plays featuring Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Shakespeare in America. He’s the author of Shakespeare’s Book of Wisdom: Advice on Living a Wiser, Happier Life from William Shakespeare & Friends (DePortola Press 2018). His 2016 TED Talk is “How NOT to Hate Shakespeare.” His verse adaptation of Sophocles’ Electra will be produced by Full Circle Players in Riverside, California in October 2020. He is a graduate of Yale University and George Mason University Law School. For details, visit www.robcrisell.com or www.facebook/robcrisellactor/.

Temecula Valley Wineries BOOK

It’s finally here! Today, my new book “Temecula Valley Wineries” officially goes on sale on Amazon and at stores near you. Thank you to all of you who have already gotten your copy and let me know you enjoyed it. There are SO many people I need to thank for their contributions to this book, especially Rebecca Farnbach, Peter Poole, Phil and Carol Baily, the staff of the Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association, De Portola Wine Trail, the winery owners and winemakers of Temecula, and many others. The sales sheet below gives details on how to order multiple books. You can order single books via Amazon. Salute!

My Newest Poem in the Lyric

Here is my latest poem in Lyric poetry magazine. This one appears in the Summer 2021 issue. Hope you like it.

Song of the Plague Stone

By Robert Crisell

Put a penny on the plague stone,

I’ll leave some bread for you.

Put a penny on the plague stone,

I’ll bring some barley, too.

Your parents never cared for me,

But now they rest beneath a tree.

Put a penny on the plague stone,

In summertime we’ll wed.

Place your sins upon the plague stone,

I’ll say a prayer for you.

Place your sins upon the plague stone,

And pray for my soul, too.

Our trespasses were mild and sweet,

But bitter is our love’s defeat.

Place your sins upon the plague stone,

A reckoning is due.

Shed your tears upon the plague stone,

And I’ll leave mine for you.

Shed your tears upon the plague stone

With rosemary and rue.

Our days grow dark, our lives are stale, 

But bright light shines beyond the vale. 

Shed your tears upon the plague stone, 

May death our love renew.