Oberon Shakespeare Study Group

April 2, 2008 Hi Oberoners, As a precursor to my attendance at the Concordia Conference in Portland, Oregon (which I report on in due time) I am spending a few days here in Ashland (in the Rogue Valley) at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in order to get myself in the "Shakespeare" mood. I arrived here yesterday (Monday) but didn't do anything except check in to my hotel (the Bard's Inn ) and go to sleep. Today, I had lunch with Earl Showerman (who lives near here) and we only spent about 20-percent of the time discussing the Greek influences on Shakespeare. Yes, Earl is about to present another of his series of presentations on this subject later this week at Portland. Having the rest of the day free until my 8 p.m. theater (more on this later) I went to that famous spot, the Oregon Vortex and House of Mystery . At this spot, due to the strange orientation of the north-south and east-west magnetic forces known as terra lines, strange phenomenon occur, such as people c...

The Newberry Library Center for Renaissance Studies will host a free Shakespeare symposium on the topic of "Shakespeare and the History of Philosophy" from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. March 20, 2009 in Ruggles Hall at the Newberry Library , 60 W. Walton Street, Chicago, IL 60610. A tentative list of speakers includes: Rebecca Comay, University of Toronto; Andrew Cutrofello, Loyola University; ChicagoNed Lukacher, University of Illinois, Chicago; Julia Reinhard Lupton, University of California, Irvine; Colin McGinn, University of Miami; Gail Kern Paster, Folger Shakespeare Library; and Lawrence Rhu, University of South Carolina. There is no fee to attend the symposium, but attendees should register in advance. To register, contact the Center for Renaissance Studies at 312.255.3514, or at renaissance@newberry.org . According to its website, the library's Center for Renaissance Studies was founded in 1979 with a grant fro m the National Endowment for the Humanities. The center serves sc...

Hi, Oberon, Just a reminder that our regular meeting for February is scheduled for Thursday evening, Farmington Library on 12 Mile Rd., room opening at 6:45 pm. We will be back in Room A, the larger of our two regular rooms. This meeting will be important for planning our activities for 2008. We need to know who is interested in our annual foray into Stratford for a weekend (or at least a day) of Shakespeare. Richard will have the options for us so we can get it organized early this time. (I know we always say that, but this time we mean it!) We will also make a major advance into the Hamlet Project, which so many of you have so eagerly anticipated. And don't forget our Treasurer's report. We will have two this time to make up for the one we didn't have time for last time. We have had some wonderful presentations lately, but I am looking forward to a meeting where we will have time to exchange ideas with each other and to enjoy each other's company. I'm hoping to ...

I would like to take the opportunity to encourage all members of Oberon as well as anyone interested in the Shakespeare Authorship Question to consider strongly joining me in attending the upcoming Shakespeare Authorship Studies Conference, to be held April 3-6 at Concordia College in Portland, Oregon. Having attended the last five Conferences, I can honestly say that it is well worth the trip. All of the presentations are scholarly and incredibly interesting. The upcoming Conference should prove to be very memorable. Highlights (for me at least) of the Conference will be the opportunity to hear Bertram Fields (author of Players: The Mysterious Identity of William Shakespeare ) and Amy Freed (author of the play The Beard of Avon , which I believe will be performed at the College during the Conference). All of the favorite speakers from past Conferences will be there, as well as some interesting newcomers such as Peter Dawkins, a Baconian who nonetheless has much to say on Edward deVere...

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Susan Grimes Width to the Board of Trustees of the Shakespeare Oxford Society following the resignation of Elliot Stone. Sue will be serving as Treasurer for the SOS. Sue comes to the SOS Board with a background of being a CPA and a former member of the Michigan House of Representatives. She currently is serving as a Michigan Tax Tribunal Judge. Those of you who attended the 2006 Annual Joint Conference of the Shakespeare Oxford Society and the Shakespeare Fellowship in November, 2006 will know of the invaluable contributions of Sue in making that Conference so widely acclaimed. With two members now on the Board of the SOS, Oberon is poised to continue our goal of promoting interest in the Authorship Question. Congratulations, Sue! 

The Met's Macbeth simulcast on Saturday, Jan. 12 was a very interesting production directed by Adrian Noble. Standout for me was tenor Dimitri Pittas as MacDuff , especially in his fourth act aria " O figli miei...Ah, la paterna mano" when he responds to being told that his family has been slaughtered. Macbeth IV, iii All my pretty ones? Did you say all? -- O hell-kite! -- All? What, all my pretty chickens and their dam At one fell swoop? English translation of the Italian aria: Oh my children! You have all been killed by that tyrant, together with your poor mother! Ah, did I leave a mother and her children in the clutches of that beast? Alas, a father's hand was not there to shield you, my dear ones, from the treacherous assassins who put you to death. And in vain you called on me, a fugitive, in hiding, with your last gasp, with your last breath. Lord, bring me face to face with this tyrant, and if he escapes me let your merciful arms open to him.

Exciting news for Oberon to kick off the New Year! Not only is our first meeting next Thursday evening, January 17, but our guest speaker will be Mr. Charles Adams Kelly of Howland Research in Ann Arbor, author of Echoes and Shadows in the Texts of Shakespeare's Hamlet , a new study of the first editions of Hamlet . Mr. Kelly will tell us about his research into the issue of whether the First Quarto of Hamlet is a pirated edition, an unauthorized text, or whether it represents a legitimate development, such as an early draft, of that great play. His presentation will offer further impetus to our Hamlet project. Advance reports by Linda Theil and Richard Joyrich, who have met Mr. Kelly, are enthusiastic. This promises to be an evening of fascinating discussion. Please make sure it is on your schedule. Doors open at 6:45 at the Farmington Community Library , Room B. The library is on 12 Mile Rd. between Orchard Lake Road and Farmington Road. Hope your holiday was joyous and that yo...