Poet Ros Barber publishes authorship novel in verse

Book photo courtesy of Ros Barber

The Marlowe Papers: a Novel in Verse by poet Ros Barber proposes Christopher Marlowe as the author of the Shakespeare canon. The book will be released as a Kindle ebook in the US on May 25, 2012 and will be published in hardcover by McMillan's St. Martin's Press in January 2013. The UK hardcover edition published by Sceptre is available now on Amazon.co.uk. The Marlowe Papers was reviewed as  "Bard Times: this novel in subtle verse will make one look back in wonder at an era of riddles, disguises, allusions and concealments" by Suzi Feay in the May 19, 2012 edition of the Financial Times/London. Feay says:

It’s enough to strike despair into the heart of James Shapiro, author of Contested Will, as well as the hearts of all the other Shakespeare experts who refute the so-called “authorship controversy”. This novel, written entirely in fast-moving iambic pentameter, embellishes the notion that Christopher Marlowe wrote the Shakespearean canon after falsely being declared dead in a Deptford brawl. 

The fiction work is part of Barber's doctor of philosophy thesis on Marlowe. Her doctorate was granted by the University of Sussex in May 2011. A text of the critical component of her thesis is available online at http://rosbarber.com/research/dphil-phd-thesis/


Barber's views may be seen in a 45 minute video available online at http://www.sussex.ac.uk/mtl/video.php?id=72. A quote from her website at http://rosbarber.com/research/ characterizes her viewpoint in this manner:

[Dr. Barber] argues for a return to the first principals of historical research, a critical re-examination of evidence, and an appreciation of the extent to which our existing beliefs filter our perceptions of what is 'true'. Beyond the ostensible subject, it emphasises the necessity of encouraging students to ask questions, rather than supplying them with answers.

Last November (2011) Barber wrote in her web log about Emmerich's Anonymous, Roe's Shakespeare Guide to Italy, Prince Charles's confusion over the nature of evidence, and her view of the authorship question:

To question the authorship of Shakespeare has long been an academic taboo, and the whole thrust of my research has been to argue that it is a taboo that needs to be broken.

The Marlow Papers will be launched May 29, 2012 at the British Library where Dr. William Leahy will join Barber and Will Self in discussion. More info here:  http://www.bl.uk/whatson/events/event130838.html

Resources:
Ros Barber
http://rosbarber.com/
http://themarlowepapers.com/
http://rosbarber.com/research/dphil-phd-thesis/
http://rosbarber.com/to-ask-or-not-to-ask/#more-500
Financial Times
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/61dacdc4-9b7b-11e1-8b36-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1vKbukTpk
Kindle ebook May 25 in US: http://www.amazon.com/The-Marlowe-Papers-ebook/dp/B008071FH2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337443390&sr=8-1
Amazon.co.uk
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Marlowe-Papers-Ros-Barber/dp/1444737384/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

Oberon Chair Richard Joyrich announces May 21, 2012 Oberon meeting

Dear Oberoners,

As you may be aware, Oberon meets the fourth Monday of the month as a rule. However, this month there is a holiday on that day (Memorial Day) and the library would prefer to be closed. Therefore, we will be meeting a week earlier, that is, this coming Monday, May 21.

The place and time are the same as usual (6:45 PM at Bloomfield Township Library 1099 Lone Pine Road [corner of Lone Pine and Telegraph]).

We will have a great time (as we always do). If you were at the last meeting (our Un-Birthday Party) you will recall that we began playing Oxfordian Jeopardy, but we only had time to play the first round. So we will plan to play Double Jeopardy and Final Jeopardy. The questions will be very challenging.

I will also be prepared to discuss some of the highlights of the recent Authorship Studies Conference held last month in Portland, Oregon.

We will discuss plans for an Oberon "road-trip" to Stratford, Ontario.

And of course we will be able to impart any news or exciting developments that we have become aware of in the last month (or earlier).

Don't miss this meeting or you will be sorry.

See you there,

Richard Joyrich

Quartos were NOT like paperbacks!

Novelist and anti-Stratfordian Michael Prescott posted a thorough and enlightening review titled "Shreds from the Whole Piece" of two new books about the Shakespeare apocrypha --  The Apocryphal William Shakespeare, by Sabrina Feldman and North of Shakespeare by Dennis McCarthy -- on his blog May 1, 2012. I posted comments about Prescott's comparison of Shakespearean quartos with modern paperback books that I have copied here because I think the common comparison of sixteenth century quarto publications to twentieth century paperbacks is emblematic of the anachronistic mindset that hampers a true understanding of the entire Shakespeare authorship question. The entire exchange along with his outstanding post on the Feldman and McCarthy books is available on Prescott's blog at http://michaelprescott.typepad.com/michael_prescotts_blog/2012/05/shreds-from-the-whole-piece.html.


Linda Theil posted to http://michaelprescott.typepad.com/michael_prescotts_blog/2012/05/shreds-from-the-whole-piece.html May 3, 2012:

. . .  May I take objection to your characterization of the quartos as comparable to supermarket paperbacks? Comparing the quartos to twentieth century paperbacks is a common analogy that suffers from anachronistic thinking. Considering the quartos in the same terms as modern paperbacks provides an inaccurate view of the value of the quartos and by extension an inaccurate view of the market for these quartos. While it is a difficult process to analyize the cost of goods in varied times and places, using value equivalents can be useful. In this example, a modern paperback is sold for about the cost of one-hours work by an unskilled worker or $7 to $10. A Shakespeare quarto was sold for about 8 shillings which was the weekly wage for a skilled worker, such as a joiner -- an equivalent cost today of hundreds of dollars. This is a vast difference in value. Comparing a quarto to modern paperbacks also gives the impression that the quartos were an important part of the contemporary meme, like a best selling novel or an enormously popular TV show in the twentieth century, but the limits of communication in the sixteenth century make any such comparison inaccurate. I don't know how to imagine the quartos as a cultural phenomenon, but I'm pretty sure they have nothing in common with paperback books. In my opinion, the whole issue of the Shakespeare authorship suffers greatly from our human inability to set aside our comprehension of the world as we experience it, in order to understand the world as it was in the past. 

Linda Theil posted to http://michaelprescott.typepad.com/michael_prescotts_blog/2012/05/shreds-from-the-whole-piece.html May 4, 2012:

... regarding the cost of a quarto, I agree that reasonable people might come to different conclusions. I don't know where Wikipedia comes up with a pound in Elizabethan money being equivalent to $200 current American, but I understand that some historians consider the issue of equivalence to be the most useful in determining the cost of things in various times and cultures. Some historians base this equivalence on the cost of a loaf of bread which in Elizabethan times I understand to have cost a penny. If you accept that the cost of bread today is between $4-5, you might consider that a penny in Elizabethan times is the equivalent of $4 today. Even if a quarto cost only a shilling (a low-ball figure, from the information I have seen) an Elizabethan would have had to pay the price of twelve loaves of bread to purchase a quarto (or $48 -50 in current currency)-- much more than the cost of a paperback book.

I think the value of goods is a very interesting topic in itself, but I do not insist that my understanding of the value of a quarto is correct. I only wish to offer the opinion that comparing Elizabethan quartos to modern paperbacks is an inaccurate simile. I believe the simile is inaccurate on more than one level as I indicated in my original post, and which you seem to support in your acknowledgement of the small print runs. I believe the simile is inaccurate, also, because the psychology of Elizabethan communication is not accessible to modern humans: i.e. we no longer understand the way a society functions when speed of communication is measured in weeks instead of seconds.

For these and other reasons (literacy rates, for example) this comparison of quartos to paperbacks is common and emblematic of an anachronistic view of the Elizabethan world that hampers real understanding of the era and its art. This easy acceptance of an easy answer to a complex topic -- an answer riddled with unfounded and untested assumptions -- is also emblematic of the entire Shakespeare authorship question. . . . 

True Shakespeare offers matching funds to Shakespeare authorship film-maker Cheryl Eagan-Donovan

Edward de Vere bust commissioned by True Shakespeare founder Ben August

Film-maker Cheryl Eagan-Donovan of Controversy Films thanks Oberon readers for their support and announced a matching pledge from backer True Shakespeare: 

Thank you so much for your continued support of NOTHING IS TRUER THAN TRUTH. We are committed to bringing the true story of Shakespeare to audiences around the world. . . . Our sponsor True Shakespeare has offered to match new donations to NOTHING IS TRUER THAN TRUTH made on his page up to $7,500 Please join us and tell your friends to go to the Edward de Vere-Shakespeare Facebook page to make a donation now: https://www.facebook.com/TrueShakespeare 

With just 4 hours left, for our Finishing Funds campaign to be successful, we need more backers, including Associate Producer level backers. If you have any friends or colleagues who might be interested in joining the NOTHING IS TRUER THAN TRUTH team, . . . [click on]  https://market.ifp.org/newyork/fiscal/DonateNow.cfm?ProjectID=169 . With your help, NOTHING IS TRUER THAN TRUTH will be screening at festivals later this year! 

Shapiro invents a Jacobean Shakespeare for BBC

From British TV listings for April 23, 2012:

The King & The Playwright: A Jacobean History, BBC4, 9pm World-renowned American scholar Professor James Shapiro re-examines the work of the world's greatest playwright during the troubled first decade of King James's reign, in this new three-part documentary series. This is not the familiar Shakespeare of the time of Elizabeth, but the dark, complex Jacobean Shakespeare, at the height of his powers in truly turbulent times. . .  

http://digiguide.tv/pick-of-the-day/23+April+2012

The King & The Playwright: A Jacobean History, BBC4, 9pm  A three-parter in which US professor James Shapiro looks at the influence of King James I on Shakespeare and his plays. During this time the Bard’s output reflected the troubled and unpredictable times ushered in but this new ruler, but being promoted to a King’s Player did wonders for his bank balance and profile (much to the chagrin of present-day schoolkids across the land). Sinister strings add to the atmosphere of the saga. http://www.metro.co.uk/tv/896776-steps-on-the-road-again-legend-quest-and-scott-bailey-tv-picks#ixzz1ss3960NV

The King and the Playwright: A Jacobean History, 9 p.m. BBC4 American scholar James Shapiro eschews the Bard's Elizabethan plays to look at the work Shakespeare wrote during the first decade of King James's reign. In Shapiro's reading, James was admirably intellectual yet lacked the common touch. Enjoying the personal patronage of James, Shakespeare saw the workings of the court close up. In the first of three documentaries-cum-personal essays, Shapiro looks at how the era's uncertainties fed into Measure For Measure, the little-performed Timon Of Athens and King Lear. Excellent. Jonathan Wright http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2012/apr/22/the-king-and-the-playwright?newsfeed=true

UPDATE 04/24/12
Reviews of first installment of three-part documentary on James Shapiro's imaginings about Shakespeare and King James:
The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2012/apr/23/great-british-menu-tv-review?newsfeed=true
The Independent http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/last-nights-viewing-the-king-and-the-playwright-a-jacobean-history-bbc4scott--bailey-itv1-7670536.html
This is Cornwall http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/History-comes-alive-professor-s-bright-spotlight/story-15900194-detail/story.html

Shakespeare authorship documentary to air tomorrow on SKY Arts 2 in UK

Lisa Wilson, co-director with Laura Wilson Matthias of the new Shakespeare authorship documentary Last Will. & Testament, announced this week that the film will air in the United Kingdom tomorrow, April 21, 2012 at 8 p.m. on SKY Arts 2. Wilson said she and Matthias are negotiating US distribution and will update viewers at their website First Folio Pictures and on their new Facebook page, Last Will. & Testament. Wilson and Matthias showed Last Will. & Testament in their American premier at the Shakespeare Authorship Research Centre conference in Portland, Oregon on April 14, 2012. Wilson said:

"Thanks to all who attended the Portland screening for your enthusiastic response and lively discussion!  Special thanks to Daniel Wright, Al Austin, James Gaynor, Dominic Toulouse, Earl Showerman and our great panel of contributors:  Hank Whittemore, Roger Stritmatter, Laura Wilson Matthias, Bill Boyle, and Michael Delahoyde."

Oberon chairperson Richard Joyrich attended the conference and sent a report about the film. (He also plans to post a full report on the conference on this site, soon.) Joyrich said:

I was very pleased to be in the audience for a special showing of Last Will. & Testament during the recent Shakespeare Authorship Studies Conference at Concordia University. It really is an amazing achievement and a beautiful film. I hope Lisa and Laura can get it shown on TV soon, or maybe out via Netflix or DVD so you can all see it for yourself. We might be able to also have a showing of it at the SF/SOS Joint Shakespeare Authorship Conferencein Pasadena October 18-21, including "unused footage". [Shakespeare Fellowship President Earl Showerman has confirmed this booking. LT]

The film is 90 minutes long and features great production values (including several scenes from the movie Anonymous). It features interviews and contributions from Stanley Wells and Jonathan Bate,Derek Jacobi, Vanessa Redgrave, Mark Rylance, Hank Whittemore, Bill Boyle, Roger Stritmatter, Diana Price, Daniel Wright, Michael Cecil, William Leahy, Michael Delahoyde, and Charles Beauclerk, [among others].

The film is in three sections (called "acts" by Lisa and Laura, but not noted as such in the film). These are 1) Why the traditional story doesn't make sense (except to the two Stratfordians), 2) The case for Edward de Vere, and 3) A possible reason for what happened and why we should care who wrote the plays (the same one given in Anonymous). This last part was not given in a "dogmatic fashion" and Derek Jacobi called it only one of several possible scenarios.

This film has already been sold to Sky TV in England (for three years) and will be premiering there on April 21. Apparently, the twins are close to making deals in Germany and Russia (both places where Anonymous did very well compared to the US). But they are having trouble getting something in the US. They are somewhat hampered by legal considerations since Roland Emmerich (and, through him, Sony) are involved and portions of Anonymous are in the film. By the way, in my opinion, the way that the scenes from Anonymous are used in this film are superior to the way they were presented in the original movie (less "dramatic baggage" and confusion).

There was a panel discussion that went on after the screening of the film. Joining Lisa and Laura were Michael Delahoyde, Bill Boyle, Dan Wright, Roger Stritmatter, and Hank Whittemore (all having appeared in the film).

Some interesting information that was revealed was that Lisa and Laura had approached Kenneth Branaugh, Harold Bloom, and James Shapiro for the film, but all declined [with] Shapiro not even answering their inquiry. Lisa and Laura said that they had about 254,000 words that they edited down to 12,000 for the film as it exists now and as it will be shown in England. Perhaps some future use of other footage will be possible.

PBS and some other US networks Lisa and Laura approached wanted them to edit it down further into only 60 minutes or less, but they don't want to do this (and I can't blame them). They said that if they don't get a TV deal in 60-90 days, they will deal with Netflix.

UPDATE 04/28/12

Last Will. & Testament is now available online at SKY GO!  (UK Only) Click here to stream or download the film to your computer. Next broadcast: June 21st at 7:30 pm on Sky Arts 1. 

Eagan-Donovan hopes to wind up long-term, film project this year

Cheryl Eagan-Donovan at Shakespeare Authorship Studies conference April 12, 2012

Director Cheryl Eagan-Donovan reports on her film, Nothing Is Truer Than Truth:

I wanted to let your group know about my new Kickstarter campaign to raise [$25,000] finishing funds for my film Nothing Is Truer Than Truth. I screened an excerpt from the film at the Concordia [Shakespeare Authorship Studies] Conference [on April 13, 2012]. . . . The total budget for the film is less than one million dollars, and we are working toward festival a debut in 2012. . . . Funding received to date has been generously provided by individual donors and by a grant from Shakespeare Fellowship Foundation. For more information about the film, go to: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2027553076/nothing-is-truer-than-truth-finishing-funds?ref=email or www.controversyfilms.com.

From Eagan-Donovan's press release on the new fundraising campaign:

Director Cheryl Eagan-Donovan has launched a new Kickstarter campaign to raise finishing funds for her feature length documentary, Nothing is Truer than Truth. Speaking at the 16^th Annual Shakespeare Authorship Studies Conference at Concordia University, she also announced the formation of an advisory committee to assist in developing outreach, marketing and distribution strategy for the project. The film is currently in post-production and scheduled for release later this year. Nothing is Truer than Truth is not about the authorship question; it’s about the authorship answer, Edward de Vere.

Sonnetscape

During the just-concluded 16th Annual Shakespeare Authorship Studies Conference at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon (which I hope to describe in an upcoming post) I had the opportunity to see a very unusual production of Shake-Speare's Sonnets in Portland (Cheryl Eagan-Donovan, another conference attendee) went along with me). Note that this was definitely NOT part of the Conference; we went on our own after the Conference events were finished for the day.

There were only two other people in the audience with us. I am curious as to what they thought of the performance. The production was very "avant-garde" (a term I got from Cheryl; I would have said "incomprehensible").

It was done (as you may be able to see in the above advertising poster) by the Fuse Theatre Ensemble at the Q Center in Portland. This is the community center for the Gay and Lesbian community in Portland and is quite a nice place. The intent of the production was to show how the Sonnets can be seen as homosexual and bisexual (a relationship involving Shakespeare and the Earl of Southampton) and that this could be the reason they were initially suppressed after being published in 1609.

The tag line under the name on the poster (hard to read above) is "What if the reason we know so little is because they knew too much?" I really like this sentiment. Of course there have been various other theories put forward to explain why the Sonnets had to be hidden and their author not identified.

The production featured two women, playing the parts of Poet and Earl, and a man (dressed in black with a black hood covering his head and face). I don't really know what his part was. He seemed to be some kind of manipulator of the two other characters (and probably also represented the Rival Poet in Sonnets 78-86). The Poet had tape over her mouth for the whole performance (I guess signifying inability to come forward or be acknowledged).

There was a projection screen which, at the beginning and end, showed strange images of someone writing sonnets using black and red ink which was then smeared all around and, during most of the show, a "count-up" of the Sonnets as they were each performed (yes, all 154 of them). The show lasted about 90 minutes, with no intermission (which may have been fortunate for the actors as I don't think Cheryl and I would have stayed for a second Act).

As I said, all 154 Sonnets were performed (in a fashion). Most were recited in entirety by a voice-over (I think it was the man in black, who it turns out was also the director of the play) with occasional recitation in whole or part of some Sonnets by the Earl along with the voice-over ("Why not the Poet?" Cheryl and I wondered-oh yes, she had tape over her mouth). There were some Sonnets, especially at the beginning (the first 17 "procreation" sonnets) and at the end (the "Dark Lady" ones) which had only their first few lines said.

During all of this Sonnet reciting, the actors engaged in highly theatrical (i.e. weird in my opinion) dancing and stylized encounters (during which the actors sometimes wrote words on each other with a marker pen). There was a sign at the box office (that is a desk in the Q center) warning that the show was rated R for partial nudity and strong language. Well, there was certainly partial nudity in some of the encounters of the Poet and Earl, but the only language I heard was by Shakespeare (well, I guess it could be considered strong).

After it was all over, there was opportunity for some discussion with the actors. They did know about the Authorship Question, but were not that interested in it. They only wanted to explore the themes they had found in the Sonnets.

Cheryl and I certainly had an interesting time!

Perhaps we had seen something wonderful and groundbreaking and perhaps we simply wasted our only free evening during the Concordia Conference. Time will tell. You can read more if you want at fusepdx.org

I do like the tag line very much though!

Prosser asks "Why don't we study holocaust denial?"

Students at Shakespeare authorship seminar at York University April 7, 2012

Richard Joyrich, MD gave an excellent overview of “Shakespeare: The Authorship Question” seminar hosted by Professor Don Rubin at York University on April 7, 2012 in his article, “York University Tackles the Authorship Question”. The seminar was planned and executed by students under Rubin’s direction as the culmination of their participation in his Shakespeare authorship course held during the winter semester.

“Two years ago I suggested we offer a course and got the usual laughter,” Rubin said. “A friend tried to stop me from making a fool of myself. After debate and stubbornness on my part, I offered the course. We cut off the class enrollment at 30 members, and 26 students finished. I thank my students; they were the primary researchers. My goal is to make them all understand just how odd the connections are between the author and Shaksper.”

His success was demonstrated during the culminating panel discussion when keynote speaker, panel member and Shakespeare by Another Name author, Mark Anderson, asked students to report on their experience in Rubin’s authorship course.

Students responded with thoughtful comments:

“When presented with information and documents, it became impossible for me to believe what I believed before I went into this class.”

“You can’t not talk about this – a debate needs to happen.”

“We really need to be critically thinking.”

Michael Wisniowski, a third-year, film screenwriting, and education student from Toronto spoke about the benefits of Rubin’s course and asked, “Why shouldn’t we discuss the authorship question?”

David Prosser on panel at "Shakespeare: The Authorship Question"

David Prosser, director of communications for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival of Ontario, replied, “Why shouldn’t we discuss holocaust denial?”

Unfamiliar with this crude, but common Stratfordian rhetorical tactic, Rubin’s students seemed to recoil in disgust, and Wisniowski retorted that there is no comparison between the two issues. Wisniowski said, later:

I explained that the two were completely dissimilar, when there is so much overwhelming evidence for that horrific event and nowhere near enough evidence one way or the other for the authorship question. Before I was cut off to responding to that comment -- after getting what I believe was a rousing applause for telling him there's no comparison between the two -- I was going to ask him, despite the ludicrousness of the topic, would he not be interested in at least attending a debate about it? I think Mr. Prosser is a very close-minded individual who has done no research on the topic due to his own close-mindedness, which is very unfortunate.

I don't want to completely bad mouth the guy, because he is entitled to what he believes! I just think that it's a little ridiculous that he's ridiculing the idea of skepticism and reasonable doubt and the yearning for more information. Especially seeing as how I advocated that it very well could have been the Bard from Stratford. I'm just interested in the debate and interested in the information and the arguments that all sides come up with. It's entertaining, informative and, most importantly, gets you thinking critically, which is something not enough people these days do.

Mark Anderson on panel at "Shakespeare: The Authorship Question"

During the closing commentary, Mark Anderson said -- in a very gracious but grave manner -- that he could not allow Prosser’s remark to stand without comment. “We are studying a literary question,” Anderson said. “We are not killing six-million people.”

Professor Rubin said that the April 7, 2012 seminar was being taped and would be published in edited form at a future date. He also intends to write about his Shakespeare authorship course for publication.

Poet Patricia Keeney reads "Shakespeare in Space" at Toronto authorship conference

Patricia Keeney reading "Shakespeare in Space" York. U. April 7, 2012

Poet Patricia Keeney read her poem "Shakespeare in Space" at the York University seminar titled "Shakespeare: The Authorship Question" held April 7, 2012 in Toronto, Canada. Keeney is professor of English and creative writing at the university and is married to conference organizer Don Rubin. Together they attended the 2009 SF/SOS Shakespeare authorship conference held in Houston where Keeney was inspired to compose "Shakespeare in Space". Keeney said:

What inspired the poem is contained in the little headnote under the title. That first (for me) conference in Houston with the Oxfordians was a revelation. Combined with our tour of the space centre, it gave me two whole sets of languages with which to express what I think is really a call to take risks in our thinking, especially in academia which should be all about discovery and exploration, intelligent adventure!

As an editor, and theater and literary critic, Keeney publishes in Canadian and international journals. She is the author of nine books of poetry and a picaresque novel, The Incredible Shrinking Wife; her works have been translated into many languages including Hindi and Chinese. Her latest English book of poetry, First Woman, was published in 2011 by Inanna Publications.

Oberon is honored to be given permission to publish the poem, "Shakespeare in Space", by Patricia Keeney.

Shakespeare in Space

(being the result of a conference on the Shakespeare authorship question held in Houston, Texas)

                                                 

Houston we have a problem.

There’s an alien in the galaxy

imposter on the cultural radar

pretender to the literary throne

an English Renaissance upstart

cruising around with the classicists

Gemini and Apollo

sailing the Sea of Tranquility

cresting an Ocean of Storms

here and now

at the authorship conference

literary inquisition

star chamber, torturing

the question:

was Shakespeare really Shakespeare?

or the Earl of Oxford?

We circle in space.

Did he sign his name

hand write a manuscript

(disputed hand)

compose the music

trumpet fanfares and an aubade

this simple man of Stratford?

Skylab trainees

we ponder

his dance with Don Juan of Austria

flamboyant in Love’s Labours Lost and Othello

an intimate of France and Spain.

Could our untraveled bard step so lavishly

before the conqueror at England’s gates

light a Spanish fire in Elizabeth’s court?

Somersaulting  through weightless space

we come undone

froth at the mouth when we brush our teeth

spray onto walls a pointillist painting.

The shaker of spears was any playwright

needing anonymity in a dangerous time.

Stratford kept Oxford

umbilically tethered to earth.

Reading Greek and Latin in the original

marking out verses of his blue boar bible

David and his harp, the artist at court

practicing legalities in the sonnets

this unlettered actor in his verse

sang songs of strange birds

the phoenix half-dreamer,

the siren, all-seeming

this local village man.

From mission control

our brains are bombarded

invisible relays, the tapping of keys

sending whispers through space

close as a closet, farther

than freedom or fear.

We’ve practiced for this.

dangled in partial gravity

spun in neutral buoyancy

Snub-nosed and charging

we’re riding the rocket

not easy but hard 

to moonwalk again

past an oak grove of dead astronauts

and ideas

when Stratford was a Roman road

and Oxford a crossing for cows.

Patricia Keeney, 2009