Renaissance Quarterly Reviews Sky Gilbert Book

Professor Sky Gilbert’s recent book, Shakespeare Lied, was published by Guernica Editions in September 2024 (available from the publisher and on Amazon).

A review by Richard Waugaman was recently published in the Renaissance Quarterly (restricted access here). Waugaman states that “Gilbert boldly asserts his conclusion that the real Shakespeare was likely the seventeenth Earl of Oxford. Concerned that his heresy might be offensive, he says that readers need not share his authorship belief in order to enjoy his book. He only insists that we be open to ‘the notion that Shakespeare had the giants of Greek and Roman literature at his fingertips — and that he had the education, intelligence, and intellectual discernment to be inspired by them’.”

The Renaissance Society of America (RSA) has 5,000 members, making it the largest international academic organization devoted to the study of the Renaissance. It is a remarkable coup for an authorship doubting book to be reviewed by the RSA’s quarterly scholarly journal.

Sky Gilbert, a longtime SOF member, is University Professor Emeritus in the School of Theatre, English, and Creative Writing at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. He earned his M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Toronto.

Sky is a prolific and award-winning poet, novelist, playwright, director, and drag queen extraordinaire. He was co-founder and longtime artistic director of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto, one of the largest gay and lesbian theatres in the world.

[published Oct. 7, 2025; updated Nov. 27, 2025]