Oberon Shakespeare Study Group

Sir Derek Jacobi in PBS series Shakespeare Uncovered, Richard II episode by Linda Theil In a new six-part PBS series, Shakespeare Uncovered, elucidating the glories of the Bard’s plays, Sir Derek Jacobi “ . . . sets the fur flying”, as he says in his one-hour segment on the play, Richard II , by advocating Edward de Vere  as the author of the work known under the pseudonym William Shakespeare. The Richard II segment aired February 1, 2013 on PBS stations and is available on DVD and for viewing online from the Shakespeare Uncovered site at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/shakespeare-uncovered/video/richard-ii-with-derek-jacobi/ Retired humanities professor James Norwood of St. Paul, Minnesota has given Oberon permission to publish his commentary on the Shakespeare Uncovered series that Norwood originally posted to the late Robert Brazil’s private authorship discussion list, Elizaforum. Professor Norwood taught a course on the topic of Shakespeare authorship at the University...

A year ago in December 2010, when we Oberons gathered for our annual holiday feast at Tom and Rosey Hunter’s house, Tom was filled with enthusiasm for an unpublished work that he had just read, Steve McClarran’s I Come to Bury Shaksper , now available for the Kindle at Amazon. Upon receiving McClarran’s manuscript in November 2010, Tom had told the author, with characteristic warmth and humor:  “We will be getting together with the family to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow. I have a feeling that I will be huddled up in a corner with your book. Just hope I don't get gravy all over it. Will report back as soon as I have something substantive to say or as soon as I think I have something substantive to say, whichever occurs first.” Within days, he reported to McClarran: “I have been waiting for the let down, and it hasn't come. The book gets better and better as it goes. The probing jabs have become body blows, and I hear air whooshing out of the Stratford...

As some of you may have heard, Tom Hunter suffered a massive cardiac event last Friday afternoon while sitting outside of his cottage on the shores of Northern Michigan's Torch Lake, considered one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. After a (mercifully painless) hospitalization in Traverse City Tom departed this world at around 3 AM this morning. Although our local group, Oberon, was started in 1999 by Barbara Burris and myself and Tom joined us a little later, he has become (in my opinion at least) the soul of our group. He has served as our Chair for these many years and has kept us on track and helped build Oberon into a well-respected local Oxfordian group (of course I don't want to take away from all the great efforts of many of you). Tom's death is a great loss for Oberon, as well as for the Oxfordian world in general. Tom has been very active in doing research and has published many papers in Oxfordian newsletters and other media outlets. H...

Oberon Chair R. Thom Hunter and Treasurer Tom Townsend will appear on the 11:40 a.m. segment of WDET-FM's highly respected The Craig Fahle Show on April 14, 2011. In honor of April as poetry month Tom and Tom will discuss their favorite sonnet writer and honor the true poetic creator of Shakespeare's works. The Craig Fahle show airs daily from 10 a.m. to noon on WDET-FM , 101.9 on the FM dial. Fahle's daily shows are repeated at 7 p.m. every evening except Friday. The poetry segment of Thursday's show will air again at 8:40 p.m. The segment will also be available to download as a Podcast at  http://www.wdetfm.org/rss/ . Tom Townsend, who is a big fan of Fahle's has been working on this project for several months.  "I have been communicating with one of the producers, Townsend said. "She said this is poetry month, would you be interested in having members of your group talk about poetry. I said yes. I told her about our UN-birthday party at the Laurel Pa...

Your Michigan Shakespeare Festival Presentation Committee has been meeting to put together two great presentations this year at the invitation of Robert Duha, managing director of the festival.  We think we have done that.  Be sure to be at our regular meeting Wednesday evening to help us review and sharpen the message which we will be delivering to the audiences of Romeo and Juliet, 6:30 Saturday evening July 24 and Comedy of Errors, 6:30 Saturday evening July 31.   Also, Richard Joyrich will be presenting his long awaited summary of this year's Concordia Conference in Portland, OR, which was held in April.  Be there for Richard's take on groundbreaking scholarship presented at the conference and on other fun stuff.   Plus we need to finalize plans for Stratford and Interlochen, as those events are fast approaching.   Looking forward to seeing you at the Farmington Library as always for an enjoyable two hours of our favorite topic, the true Shakespeare. ...

Dear Oberon,   For those of you who might be interested, a dissident's view (by yours truly,) of James Shapiro's new book about authorship,  Contested Will , has been posted on the SOS blog.  I would like to hear your thoughts. Click here: Hunter reviews Contested Will   Tom Hunter

Oberon Chairperson Tom Hunter posted a comment on De Vere Society Secretary Richard Malim's report on the Nov. 28 conference at The Globe theater in London on the Shakespeare Oxford Society blog. Hunter's long comment addresses his understanding of Malim's report on James Shapiro's view of the authorship question -- a view that will be elucidated with the publication of Shapiro's Contested Will to be published March/April 2010. Hunter said, in part: Shapiro appears to be saying that (18th century Shakespeare biographer Edmond) Malone’s failing is this: “It diminishes the power of Shakespeare’s imagination: all his characters are within that imagination.” In other words, Shapiro has brought Stratfordians to another dead end, an equivalent of the genius defense, and a betrayal of their misunderstanding of how literature is created. View the report and Hunter's entire comment on the SOS blog at: http://shakespeareoxfordsociety.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/mali...

Oberon Chair Tom Hunter accepted the invitation of Michigan Shakespeare Festival Managing Director Robert Duha to present two pre-play, public talks during the 2010 festival season. Dates have not yet been set for the performance of Romeo and Juliet and Comedy of Errors  next summer because the festival is currently negotiating for a new artistic director to replace John Neville Andrews. Duha said an announcement is imminent. Duha reported that the festival hired David Blixt to create a 75-minute version of Romeo and Juliet that the company will tour in Jackson County high schools next April. Blixt is a Shakespearean actor, author of the novel Master of Verona , and founder with wife Janice Lee Blixt of A Crew of Patches Chicago-based, Shakespearean theater company. Duha said the festival plans to repeat their annual high school monologue contest, and they hope to present the finalists at the festival for the first time this year. He also said the festival's new Marketing D...

Dear Oberon, It is my pleasure to report that approximately 40 members of the Adult Learning Institute graciously, many enthusiastically, attended our Oberon presentation Thursday, October 1, featuring Ron Destro’s “Who Really Wrote Shake-speare?” The Adult Learning Institute is a remarkable organization of 180 senior citizens who attend an impressive, challenging series of lectures, performances, seminars, and other programs about historical, literary, cultural, social and other topics and issues. ALI is affiliated with the Elderhostel Institute Network and sponsored by Oakland Community College which hosts the group’s activities at its Orchard Ridge Campus. In brief opening remarks, I polled the audience. The overwhelming majority of those in attendance raised their hands when asked if they believed that William Shakspere of Stratford wrote the plays attributed to William Shakespeare as we have been taught. A small number of hands went up to indicate those who thought so...

Dear Oberon,   A brief reminder that our July meeting this week will be on Wednesday at the Farmington Library rather than Thursday.  We are making the change in the fond hope of accommodating the schedules of those who cannot make it on Thursday.  Please let me know if the Wednesday date will cause you difficulty in being with us.   So we will see you at 6:45 Wednesday, July 15 at our usual place, meeting room A. We will be hearing about the results of Oberon Up North and the Interlochen Shakespeare Festival which in itself was a quite pleasant experience.  We will also be looking to the rest of the year, including the Michigan Shakespeare Festival coming up August 1, interesting productions at Stratford this summer, the UMS/Globe production of  Love's Labours Lost   in October, and our Sonnet meeting planned for October.   Lots on our plate as usual. See you Wednesday!   Tom Hunter Oberon Chair