Oberon Shakespeare Study Group

NPR covered the publication of Bob Dylan scholar Clinton Heylin's  new book  So Long as Men Can Breathe: The Untold Story of Shakespeare's Sonnets , yesterday  -- on the anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare’s Sonnets in 1609 . According to the NPR report Heylin is a proponent of the theory that the sonnets chronicle a homosexual love affair between the author and William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke – one of the fraternal grand possessors of the 1623 first folio of Shakespeare’s works. Heylin comes at his subject from a Stratfordian perspective and is of the opinion that the sonnets were never meant for publication, like Dylan's "basement tapes". An excerpt from Heylin's book is posted on the NPR site.

Hello, Oberon!   Thursday's meeting will be a blockbuster.  Many great developments have been occurring lately which I am eager to share with the group. We will reminisce about the UNbirthday party and kick off planning for next year. Also, we will get a start on our observance of the 400th year of the Sonnets which were published in May, 1609.   Also, Richard is back from the Concordia conference in Portland, Oregon, ready to bring us up to date with what happened there.  And the two Toms will recount their merry adventure across the street at the Farmington Players.   Plus there is a good chance that we will be welcoming new members.   So Thursday can't come soon enough.  Same time, 6:45, same place, Farmington Library on 12 Mile Rd. between Orchard Lake Rd. and Farmington Rd.  See you there!   Tom Hunter Oberon Chair

"'Tis the god Hercules, whom Antony loved, Now leaves him." Antony and Cleopatra , Act IV, scene 3 Well, I don't know where Hercules went immediately after leaving Antony, but I know where he was this afternoon. He was with Prashant Andrade, who led us through a group reading of this play. With 42 scenes and over 40 speaking roles, it was certainly a Herculean effort to pull it off with only a few minor glitches. In addition to parceling out the roles to those in attendance (initially eleven in number), Prashant had to make quick alterations as four people found that they had to leave early. I think we were all proud of ourselves that we tackled this play (which contains some of the most beautiful poetry and images in the works of Shakespeare) and came out on top. Kudos again to Prashant.

Kenneth Branagh joined the ranks of outspoken doubters this past weekend. He is quoted in the Sunday Express saying, "There is room for reasonable doubt. DeVere is the latest and hottest candidate." See the article at  TopNews . 05/12/09 NOTE: Shakespeare Authorship Coalition Chairman John Shahan reported May 12 that an authoritative source said Branagh did not mean to indicate he was not a Stratfordian by his comments to the reporter.

Dear Oberon, A warm glow still persists from our Shakespeare UNbirthday party last Thursday, April 23, and it isn’t all from the candles on the UNbirthday cake or from the happy sight of Joy Townsend and Rosey Hunter providing atmosphere in their colorful Elizabethan costumes. A near full house of celebrants watched as Ron Destro’s    “Who Really Wrote As Shake-speare?”    presented historical and literary reasons to doubt that William Shakspere of Stratford-Upon-Avon wrote the works of William Shakespeare, as well as reasons for Edward de Vere, the 17 th  Earl of Oxford as the true author. The presentation was followed by a series of UNtoasts to Shakspere as the UNauthor and to April 23 as the UNbirthday (it is only a guess as to when Shakspere was born). Since we had neither glasses nor champagne, we imagined them, just as Stratfordians imagine biographical details of their man’s life, which are also in short supply.   While we were at it, we imagine...