Papers, Panels and a Debate About the Future | Hurry! Early Bird Registration Ends Aug. 1
The Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship’s upcoming Annual Conference in Ashland, Oregon, will feature fourteen new papers on the authorship (including two for newcomers), three fascinating panels (including one on films), and a debate between authorship heavyweights James Warren and John Shahan about how to best strategize the Shakespeare Authorship Question (SAQ) in the years ahead. The full conference schedule is available on the SOF website conference page.
The Conference will begin on Thursday, September 22, and will conclude on Sunday, September 25, with the SOF’s Annual Meeting, followed by an Awards Banquet. Register by Monday Aug 1 for the early bird discount.
For the first time, the Conference will also be live-streamed internationally, meaning that for a cost of $99, all four days of the event will be open to anyone anywhere in the world to view. Get your livestream ticket here.
“This is our first live Conference since 2019 at the Mark Twain House in Hartford,” said Conference Chair and SOF Vice-President Don Rubin. “Because many people are still a bit nervous about traveling, we’ve decided to make everything that’s happening in person also be available to an even larger audience through live-stream. That said, we also expect a good crowd to be attending live. With almost two months to go, we have close to sixty members already booked in person. People really do want to get together again and share ideas face-to-face.
“Another first for us will be that some of the speakers (those unable to attend in person) will be presenting via video. We have kept the number of such presentations to no more than a couple per day. But it seemed important to offer this as another way to further extend attendance and participation to those who for one reason or another—age, cost, travel issues—felt more comfortable presenting this way. All these elements—Zoom, live-streaming, video—offer us new opportunities and we want to take full advantage of them.” Information on how to live-stream the Conference will be announced soon on the SOF website.
Among the speakers in Ashland will be frequent presenters Bonner Cutting (“The Portrait That Time Forgot”), Michael Delahoyde (“Subtler Scents in Oxford’s The Taming of the Shrew”), John Hamill (“Is Southampton the Key to the Authorship Question?”) and Cheryl Eagan-Donovan (“Henslowe, Alleyn, Burbage and Shakespeare”).
Three new speakers will discuss issues connected to Oxford from female perspectives: Kristin Bundesen (“Oxford’s Women”), Dorothea Dickerman (“The Roar of the Mouse: Anne Cecil de Vere and What She Tells Us About Shakespeare”) and Sundra Malcolm (“The Complaint in A Lover’s Complaint”).
Tom Woosnam and Tom Townsend will give talks on Thursday aimed at those new to the issues (Woosnam on “Teaching the Authorship” and Townsend on “Finding the True Shakespeare”).
Three papers will look at issues connected to the First Folio, whose 400th anniversary will be celebrated in 2023. These will include Canadian scholar Gabriel Ready’s “A Short History of Fixing”; Ernest Rehder’s “Objectives and Limitations of the First Folio”; and Shelly Maycock’s “Folger and the First Folio: An Update.”
University of Winnipeg librarian Michael Dudley, working with Bill Boyle and Catherine Hatinguais, will present a joint paper called “Tongue-tied By Authority,” an examination of ways to reform the Library of Congress’s antiquated subject headings relating to the SAQ.
The three panel discussions will focus on Oxfordian issues through different lenses: one with actors from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s The Tempest (Conference attendees will have the opportunity to see the OSF’s production of The Tempest on Friday night, September 23; tickets can be purchased at a special rate); another with four Oxfordian filmmakers (Lisa and Laura Wilson, Robin Phillips and Cheryl Eagan-Donovan) discussing their own works and how film can be used in the authorship debate; and another led by Earl Showerman and Roger Stritmatter, built around the OSF production of The Tempest .
The Conference will be held at the Ashland Hills Inn and Suites. The conference fee of $250 includes all sessions, three film showings, a wine and cheese reception on the Thursday, buffet lunches on Friday and Saturday, the closing banquet on Sunday and coffee/refreshment breaks throughout. This fee reflects a $25 discount for SOF members and another $25 discount for early booking (check the website for details). Booking late will cost you more! For complete information, use the link in the second paragraph of this article.
A limited number of guest rooms have been reserved in advance at special rates. These discounted rates expire a month before the conference, so please book as soon as possible to avoid being shut out and/or paying higher fees. To make your reservation you can call the hotel directly at (855) 482 8310 or go online. Be sure to reference the group booking for the Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship if you book by phone. To book online go to ashlandhillshotel.com and use 240854 in the Group ID field.
See you in Ashland!
