Oberon Shakespeare Study Group

You are invited to Shake-speare's UN-birthday party hosted by the Oberon Shakespeare Study Group 7 p.m. April 23, 2009 Farmington Community Library April 23 is celebrated as the birthday of the man who wrote the most magnificent poetry in the English language. But many informed Shake-speare lovers believe the work was not written by William Shaxsper of Stratford, so April 23 is the author's UN-birthday. Celebrate Shake-speare's Un-birthday with us: Ron Destro's film, Who Really wrote as Shake-speare? UN-birthday cake and refreshments Investigate the Declaration of Reasonable Doubt -- a definitive statement addressing the issue of Shakespearean authorship Publicize the celebration! Click on the picture to get a .pdf poster for printing.

Matt Cossolotto sent this link from a fellow Oxfordian that he said could be shared "at will". The link shows the face in the Cobbe portrait morphed into the face in the Droeshout engraving from the First Folio. While I don't place a lot of credence in the validity of this technique in general, this instance highlights the similarities between the faces -- specifically as the author says: the eyes. That wall-eyed look of the Droeshout is echoed in the Cobbe portrait. But the reason the morphing interested me was that one of the first things I noticed about the Cobbe is the similarity between the doublets in both portraits. The Cobbe has the same buttons, the same general design and that same odd look to the left sleeve that has engendered so much discussion in the past -- at least among dissenters. And the faces do have similar general characteristics: The long, narrow shape, the high-domed forehead, the long, attached earlobes, the deeply cut upper lip, pouting l...

Cobbe portrait (dressed just like Droushaut! L.T.) Dear Oberon, The world of Shakespeare is all atwitter about the so-called Cobbe portrait ( NYT report  ) being in any way a rendering of the man Shakespeare.  In the mean time, our new member Robert Duha--let  us welcome him as a member if we haven't before--has contributed really good evidence as to what the noise is all about. You will want to be at our meeting this coming Thursday evening, March 19, at the Farmington Library in our usual place, Room A to be in on the excitement. As if that weren't enough, the main course will be Ron Halstead's presentation on  Measure for Measure , an especially intriguing play. Ron usually throws great light on the subject, and any light he can throw on this play, one of the darker Shakespeare plays, will be welcome indeed. After Ron, we will also be hashing out plans for the Shakespeare's UNbirthday meeting coming up fast now on April 23.  The UNbirthd...

It gives me great pleasure to be able to announce the appointment of our own Linda Theil as the new editor of the Shakespeare Oxford Society Newsletter. As followers of this blog will undoubtably know the SOS is one of two national organizations dedicated to researching the authorship question and Linda's appointment is certainly a feather in her cap (and it doesn't reflect on our own Oberon group too badly either). For the past few years, the SOS newsletter has been very well edited by Lew Tate, but all good things must come to an end sometime. I know that Linda will certainly be able to fulfil the duties of editor in an equally (if not better) fashion. She has many ideas for improving the newsletter, including having a more electronic (web-based) presence. Please join me in welcoming Linda to this new venture! Well done!

Dear Oberon,   We have the meeting schedule for the second half of 2009 arranged with Farmington library. The following dates have been reserved:   July 15 August 19 September 16 October 21 November 18   Please notice that the meetings for July through November will be on Wednesdays rather than Thursdays, as they have been.  We are trying to accommodate members who can't make Thursdays.  If the Wednesday schedule is a hardship for anyone, please let me know. There is still time to make adjustments.   Also, remember that our Thursday, March 19 meeting featuring Ron Halstead's report on  Measure for Measure  and our planning for Shakespeare's UNbirthday on April 23, including a look at Ron Destro's Powerpoint presentation on authorship, is just around the corner.     BTW, some of us will be in costume for the April meeting.  Stay tuned for more details!   In line for some of that tasty UNbirthday cake, I am Tom Hun...